Time Blood
by KillMagic
Summary: At the darkest hour, Five Heroes fight against Diablo. But when one sacrifices her life to kill Diablo, she is brought back to life from another plane as someone else, but for a price of having to start everything over, beggining at the Rogue Encampment..
1. Prolouge

Diablo is © to Blizzard

Ola to all!

If you've read _Time Blood_ before, you'll probably know this isn't the same first chapter as the original one I had – well the only reason would be that fanfiction.net gobbled up the first chapter for some bizarre reason so I went into hiatus for few months – but not…you can expect me to start writing again! Enjoy…

Time Blood

Prolouge

Kail gasped at the heat of the pentagram washed over him and he staggered backwards. Blood from the large wound on his forehead dripped through his white hair and down his chin. He gasped for air again and clutched the war sword in his hand.

"Moranah!" He shouted for the sorceress.

He felt the wave of electric heat again, this time shocking him all the way up to his bones. He crashed on the stone floor of the Chaos Sanctuary and cried out. He coughed violently, blood traveling up his throat.

"Diablo!" He heard a war cry somewhere in the smoke and crackling light. He saw Thorn, the barbarian, through his blackening vision as he ran up to the towering form of the youngest Brother.

Diablo. Lord of Terror.

"Thorn! NOO!!" He shouted, before falling into a rasping cough again. He felt someone take his head gently and tipped something cool into his mouth. He felt the wounds on his side close – slowly – but enough that his eyes stopped falling back into shadows and his head cleared.

"Come on," Ollan, the paladin pulled him up. His deeply tanned face and clear gray eyes were filled with panic, masked with seriousness. "It's not your time."

He took a staggering breath and leaned on the paladin. "Moranah – she's – "

"She'll be fine," Ollan whispered. "Come on. Before he casts another one of his electric fires. Nikan's Valkyrie is taking him."

He vaguely saw Ollan cast a portal spell and they stumbled into the Pandemonium Fortress, safe from the fire and Diablo. He hit the floor, pulling Ollan down with him and coughed up another wave of blood. He felt Ollan left him and someone else took his head. Small hands, but strong. Hands that he was familiar with. 

"Kail."

He blinked and looked up at Moranah's face. Despite the blood and ash on her pale face, Moranah was still beautiful. Her soft dark brown eyes with flecks of gold were clouded over with anxiety, her dark hair matted down with dust and blood. The sorceress bent down and gently kissed him.

"He's not undefeatable, Kail," the sorceress said. 

He tore away from. "You are not going back there!" He shouted, the blood pumping in his temples. "Diablo will kill you in an instance!"

She gritted her teeth and hissed at him. "It's my duty as sorceress and one of the Five to kill him, Kail! We couldn't come this far and turn back!" She looked down at the scars on her hands, the fresh blood welling up on the cuts on her arms. "I can't do it. Not even for your love."

He pulled his hands back to keep himself from hitting her. "Moranah…" he said.

"If you want to stop me, stop Nikan, Ollan, and Thorn first!" She shouted, savagely pointing at each of the heroes. Nikan, the Amazon, stepped up and took Moranah by the shoulder.

"He's just worried – "

"Damn his worries, damn everything," she pulled back, pointing her staff at him. "Cross me again Kail, and I'll kill myself." Her brown eyes sparkled in something between determination and madness. "I'm not going back again! I'm not starting over! Kail, I'm not starting over!"

Thorn's dark eyes suddenly opened wide, and before Kail could figure out what the barbarian was seeing in Moranah, he leapt out and tried to grab her. "WAIT!" He shouted.

Kail cried out. Moranah had jumped through the portal, back where Death was waiting them.

"Damn it!" He shouted and tore a cork stopper off a healing potion and drinking the contents. He leapt back through the hazy portal, sword ready in hand. 

"Moranah! Don't!"

It was too late – even as the others appeared at his side. Nikan half shrieked, nearly dropping her javelin. She lunged out at Diablo, her shield and javelin poised ready.

"Don't – " Kail held her before she could join Moranah's dance of death. 

He watched, horrified. 

"Ho, little sorceress," Diablo's voice of a thousand hammers thundered through the sorceress. "I've beaten the lot of you Heroes once, watch me again!"

Moranah ran, a trail of fire sparking from her heels as Diablo followed her. She ran in circles and crosses, transforming the floor of the sanctuary into fire. Not being able to stand it anymore, Kail rushed in. 

Diablo hit him with full force of his arm before he could even attempt to slash him. He cried out as he skidded back five or six feet before catching himself and spitting out blood. He hissed, casting a curse of amplify damage on the demon. Thorn leapt, bringing down his axe on the brute's head, slashing a horn. Thorn fell on his knees and rolled, up again, weapon poised and ready. Nikan rushed in, sending her javelin flying into the air as a bolt of lightning. It grazed Diablo's hurt head and he turned to her, roaring flame from his mouth.

"NO!" Kail shouted.

Moran leapt in front of him and shoved the spiked end of her staff up Diablo's throat.

It didn't go in deep enough – not deep enough to be of any enough damage to him. But instead of pulling back, she held on, continuing to shove. With a cry, she jerked the spiked end back, ripping sinew and muscles from Diablo's throat.

Diablo gave a roar of outrageous wrath and whipped his spike tail.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Kail screamed.

The tail fell on Moranah, and with a sickening sound of flesh and muscle separating from bone; Kail felt his mind explode into nothing but white, mental pain. Most of Moranah's entire left side was gone, save for her arm that was still supporting the staff embedded in Diablo's throat, and her leg, but he could see her inner organs. He screamed again, unaware of Ollan holding him down to keep him from rushing in and killing himself along with Moran.

Diablo cried out and fell on his side. Moranah had let go of the staff and had fallen on the other. Tearing himself away from Ollan, he rushed over to her and fell on his knees, cradling her head.

"We did it," she whispered, hoarsely, coughing.

Nikan covered her mouth, tears running down her face. "Oh Moranah…"

"Potion! Give me your healing potions!" Kail shouted, his hands shaking as he searched in his pack. Ollan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Kail, listen to me. They're open wounds. You can't heal her," he whispered.

"I know," Moranah grinned. "Kail…"

He bent down and kissed her. Kissed her until the breath had left her lungs. Kissed her until she had no life left.

Thorn took him by the shoulders and gently pulled him away. "Let's go."

As he turned to leave, his mind blank, they heard a crunching sound behind them.

"Think you can escape?"

Diablo stood over Moranah's lifeless body, grinning. Blood dripped down his chin from the gaping wound at his throat and his eyes were a milky red. He was near death, but had summoned enough energy to try and prevent them from killing him.

"We can't fight him like this!" Nikan shouted. "No mana, no life blood left – "

"Kail," Ollan said.

"No," he whispered. "I can't do that. Let Nikan summon her Valkyrie!"

"Kail, you must. Moranah will have it no other way."

With a sob, he turned and summoned a Skeleton from Moranah's corpse. 

The Skeleton rose without a word, ready to kill. Unlike the other skeletons he had summoned from corpse of animals and demons, this one had eyes that shown a bright blue, indicating its power of being something more than just a lifeless Skeleton. 

It turned to him, the flashes inside its eyes quivering, asking him for directions.

"KILL IT!" He screamed, pointing his sword at Diablo.

The Skeleton rose, pulling it arms upwards and drawing what looked like a spider web of blue energy above its ivory head. He clutched onto the Paladin, burying his face into the chest plate, fighting the urge to watch. Heat and energy washed over him, Diablo's blood submerging him, burrowing him. He screamed his rage, his loss. His pain.

He screamed for Diablo's death, knowing that it had taken another life to bring him down.

He screamed.

A few days later, Kail sat on his rough bed of boiled bamboo and looked outside the thin wooden wall, watching the rain fall outside. They had defeated the Lord of Terror, broken his soulstone, and everyone was suppose to be rejoicing. 

Everyone except him.

They had taken resident in Kurast after the final battle, and he spent it all inside the small shack he and Ollan were sharing. His companions had turned silent – but it wasn't the silence of grief and loss he had. He knew they all loved Moranah as a friend and a Sorceress of the Five, but their pain was only brief. His was for an eternity.

And he hated how they avoided his eyes. Hated Nikan's worried words as she asked him if he was all right. Hated how Thorn tried to cheer him up even though he knew it was impossible. 

He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes. Six years of being a full-fledge Necromancer was starting to wear him down. The other sixteen years he considered as his childhood seemed so far away he could only remember bits of pieces of it. 

The door creaked open and a flash of lightning filled the room, forming a silhouette around Ollan's tall form. 

He didn't bother to look up. He tilted his head down so that the long silver hair covered his face from view.

"Since when did a Paladin like you care so much about an evil being like me?" He hissed angrily. "Always in the light, always so good, so – " his voice broke. "So – _holy_…so – damn it!"

"Kail!" 

"Shut up!" He stood up, flinging his arm out against the wall and rattled the slit bamboo dangerously. "Shut up, Ollan! Nothing you say can bring her back – _nothing_!"

Ollan looked at him through clear gray eyes. "Nothing?"

He stopped his savage breathing. "What do you mean?"

Ollan took a deep breath. "Tyrael wants to see you. Get dressed."

_The Archangel_, he thought. He shook his head and pulled on a simple linen shirt over his pants and tied the strings tight at the throat. He followed Ollan out to the rain and vainly tried to prevent the cold drops from sliding down his neck from the roof by pure reflex. His mind didn't care, and after a moment, his entire body submitted and he walked into the cold rain, allowing his entire body to soak up the rain.

Ollan led him outside of the city and into an abandoned building, shutting the door behind him. Inside, Tyrael floated silently between Thorn and Nikan. It was comical – a great Archangel inside a crumbling building with the tips of his enigmatic wings touching the ceiling.

Without a single greeting, Tyrael spoke, "Kail. Ollan told me you tried to slit your wrists yesterday."

"I was merely running the blade against my skin," he hissed, looking at Ollan. 

"Kail, you can't do this," Nikan said, tears shimmering in her eyes. He gave her a look of surprise – Nikan was from a clan of very powerful Amazon women and he had never seen her cry even as Moranah died. "We've lost Moran already – we couldn't lose you as well."

"You know I can't live without her," Kail said. "Just let me go in peace. We weren't planning to stay together anyway."

"Kail," Tyrael said, his voice silencing the others. "Before you say anything more, I have to tell you this: there is a way to bring Moranah back, but at a great cost."

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Parallel universes," Tyrael said. "As there is a Moranah in our world, so there is another Moranah in another world. It's a very difficult concept to grasp for humans. As Angels, we can travel between different worlds…and bring whatever we want back with us."

"No…" Kail whispered.

"You understand that I'm placing myself at a very dangerous position here," Tyrael continued to talk in his strange voice. "Brining humans from another world into our own is very dangerous and forbidden – but as a token of defeating Diablo, I am willing to do it for you. But I have to warn you; this Moranah will not be the same person you know.. She will look like the Sorceress you once love, but she will think differently, work differently. She _is_ a great sorceress and has all the potentials to become the great sorceress Moranah once was because she _is_ Moranah. But she will not realize it. She will have memories of her life here, in this world, but there is no guarantee that she will remember."

"But the price – "

Thorn looked away from him. 

"The price is that everything will have to start over," Tyrael said solemnly. "You will start from the very beginning of this battle."

"No…" Kail whispered again, remembering Moranah's words.

"Everyone here will have memories," Tyrael said. "Some of the people you meet will also have previous memories of what happened, but to most, it will just be just life."

"All over?!" Kail gasped. "I can't do this – I can't do this – "

"We're willing," Thorn said, clamping his fist to his heart. "For Moranah."

"You can't do this!" Kail shouted. "My life isn't worth it!"

"Any human's life is worth more than Diablo!" Ollan said, clamping a hand on his shoulder. "I'm willing to do this."

Kail shook his head. "No…I can't…do…this to all of you."

"I'm willing," Nikan said. "And who knows? Maybe something better will come out of this fight. Maybe so many will not have to die. Maybe Atma can save her son and her husband."

Kail shook his head. "No…"

"Please, Kail," Nikan said. "Do it for yourself for once. You've given up so much."

Hesitating…he silently nodded.

Tyrael moved up to him without a word and touched his forehead.

Light exploded in his eyes and a thousand stars swept across his mind.

"Kail…" someone was shaking him. "Kail – "

He looked up at Thorn's face. "What is it?"

"We're back. It's the wagon taking us to the Rogue Encampment. We're back again."


	2. Nighmares of Memories

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan.

Chapter One: Nightmares of Memories 

She swung her staff against the creature and it died instantly on the spot without a cry. She immediately turned to kill the other one that was on her back. She cried out and shot an ice bolt at it. The creature froze and exploded into sharp, little spikes of ice.

_She turned to ram her staff into the largest of them when she found herself in a desert, sitting to an edge of an oasis. There was a man coming up at her. She couldn't see who he was._

_She tried to run and see who it is, but she was stopped. Hellish flames burst and smothered her. She coughed and tried to yell, but can't._

_She started clawing at her own skin to stop the burn. _

_Her skin fell away._

_And underneath that was nothing. Just blackness._

_ _

__"NO!"

"Well well, I am so happy to see you so excited about the Declaration of Independence, Miss. Evans. Is there something you disagree about?" Professor Kingsley looked at her through his glasses.

"I um," Moran massaged her throbbing temples. "I um…can I go to the nurse? I think I need an aspirin."

Professor Kingsley slammed her ruler down on her desk. "Miss. Evans, this is your fourth time in four days and in _my class_ that you be excused to go see the nurse. _Honestly_, what is wrong with you?"

Moran looked down at her skin and shut her eyes. Peeling it away…nothing but blackness inside.

Her stomach churned.

"Excuse me," she grabbed her books and her bags and dashed out of the class. She ran into the nearest bathroom and threw up into one of the dirty toilets. A few minutes later, the bell rang.

"Moran…are you all right?" 

"Hey, Sal," she flushed the toilet and walked out to the sink. 

"What's wrong with you?" Sal tossed back her blonde hair. "You've been acting weird all week. Kingsley's gonna report you."

"Look, I can't help it," Moran rinsed her mouth, pushing her long, dark brown hair away from the water. "I haven't been getting much sleep recently."

"Yeah, and I notice you sleeping in class a lot," Sal looked concern. "Nightmares?"

"So what?" Moran shrugged and pulled out a pot of lip gloss. "A lot of people have nightmares."

"Not every night you don't," Sal eyed Moran. "I noticed you're throwing up a lot. Are you-"

"No, I'm not pregnant," Moran slammed her hand on the tiles. "Honestly, I just have this stupid nightmare about the same thing every night. Killing demons and picking away at my own skin in flames. I'm perfectly fine."

She grabbed her bags and books and hurried out the door. She wanted to go home, but awaited her was more trouble. A drunk mother and work to do. 

_"Back off!"_

"What makes you think that?" Moran swung her staff at the Zakrumite. 

"Ah!" She bolted from her bed. The sheets and her bed was soaked with sweat. She threw them back and gripped her forehead.

Zakrumite?

"What the hell is a Zakrumite?" She mumbled, even though saying it sounded perfectly familiar. She stood up and went to the large mirror at the other side of her room.

Long, wavy hair that fell nearly down to her waist. Dark brown eyes that turned the shade of honey when exposed to the sun. Perfectly normal, perfectly human. She looked fine, not sick.

What's wrong with me? She slumped on the floor, nursing her head. She never had migraines, but it looks like she did, now. But did migraines bring nightmares of demons and picking at her skin. And now Zakrumites? What the hell are Zakrumites anyway? And why did she always fight with a staff? Damn. 

There was a sudden flare of light in the room. 

She screamed and leapt over her narrow bed, staring wide eyed at the mirror. It had turned a milky white and looked like it had flashes of lightning crackling over it, like a mesh.

"WALK INTO THE PORTAL NOW!"

She gasped and looked around for a weapon. She grabbed her pair of brass knuckles and a small switchblade from her desk.

"Who-what are you?" She shouted.

"I AM THE ARCHANGEL TYRAEL! INTO THE PORTAL I COMMAND YOU!"

"Archangel? What the fuck-" She gasped as a glowing tentacle of light came from the portal and wrapped around her arm. She screamed and tried to hack it off with the blade but nothing happened.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE WHEN YOU GET TO YOUR DESTINATION!"

She shouted out as the tentacles dragged her to the portal. She dragged the carpet of her room and tried to stop herself, but the tentacles were too strong. "STOP IT!!" She shouted. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Remember, Moranaha. REMEMBER!"

She screamed as she was dragged into her mirror.

She dropped and fell on something soft.

She opened an eye and looked around. This was nowhere like her home. She was in some sort of damp forest. And it was very cold. Trees and remains of what used to be a stonewall stood around her. Her pajamas were ripped on a nearby rock.

"How convenient," she muttered. At least she still had her brass knuckles and her switchblade. "What am I suppose to do?"

She heard the sounds of running water coming from a clearing to her right. She walked towards it, holding herself with her hands. At least some water to drink would be good. Her throat was so dry.

She reached a rather large stream with clear water running through it. She dropped down on her knees and took a drink. She gasped at how cold it was. Then, she drank a few more mouthfuls and sat back, shivering.

Something pierced her arm.

"What the fuck!" She shouted and found what looked very much like a porcupine quill sticking out of her elbow. She swore as she saw strange looking creature making its way towards her. It looked like a porcupine in every aspect-except it was a size of a golden retriever and had a face that resembled a rat that a cat had already chewed on.

It shook itself and the nearly foot long quills quivered.

"Oh damn!" She dodged before another one of its quills could poke her. She gripped the switchblade in her hands, wondering when it would be the best time to sink the blade into the creature.

Something sharp hit her on the back again.

She whirled around to find another one of those porcupine creatures waddling towards her.

"Oh fuck…here goes nothing," she ran towards it and stuffed her dagger into the quills. It gave off a wet, spluttering sound and lay dead. She ran to the other and started stabbing at it. This time it took her two stabs and a punch of her brass knuckles.

"Damn it," she swore again and pulled off the quills. Who knows if these were poisonous? She went to the stream again and washed the cuts. She had to go where there was some source of human DNA in it. Either that or die.

"I am going to kick Tyrael's ass, whoever he is," she mumbled and touched one of the wounds. "If only I had a machine gun."

She started walking again, flinching whenever she thought she saw some movement.

"Wha-" She gaped as she saw a few wagons making its way towards her. "Help! Help!" She cried out, waving her arms.

Her vision started to blur and she felt queasy, like that other day in Professor Kingley's class. What she would give to be back in that ordinary, safe classroom with no such rodent except for the class's pet hamster. 

She vomited into the grass and gaped at the dark liquid. Blood.

Before she blacked out, she heard the squeak of the wagon wheels and someone shouting, "Moranah!"

"Moranah," she mumbled. "That sounds like my name."

"I can't believe she drank water from the river. And we thought she would know better."

"Of course not, Nikan. Remember Tyrael? He said she wouldn't remember anything."

"Bother! Looks like some Quill Rats got her. See this on her arm?"

"If we didn't have that leftover antidote-"

"She would have died from poison."

"Will you go away!?" Moran mumbled. She felt very sick, and very drowsy. The noise of those people was bothering her.

She heard some chuckling. "Here's some water."

She parted her lips to except the cool liquid. Gentle hands took her chin and poured the water into her dry mouth. It made her feel better, and she opened her eyes. The blurry room focused into what seem to be a tent with a single lamp hanging from the ceiling.

"Welcome back…Moranah."

She sat up and felt her eyes bugged. 

Sitting on her bed was the person who gave her the water. He looked young…in fact, very young, no older than she was, but he had long, pure ivory hair tied at the base of his neck. His eyes were a sparkling emerald green, and red rimmed as if he was crying. A single gold earring sparkle on his right ear and a silver one of his left eyebrow, adding more to his handsome face. His skin was only slightly tanned. Strong muscles rippled over his bare arms and through his partly opened black shirt.

I know him, she thought. She looked away. The more she looked at him, she found some sort of strange pain in her heard. She had a feeling she knew him from somewhere, but where? She didn't know.

The only woman besides her beamed down, as if she had met a long lost friend. Her blonde hair was tied up to the top of her head, and her eyes were a sparkling blue, lined in black. A sword hung from her belt, a shield on the floor besides her chair, and a pile of what looked like javelins at her other side.

Amazon. 

The man at her side looked like he could easily bite off both of Mike Tyson's ears plus his entire body. His head was shaven smoothly except for a long, black ponytail growing out from the center. He looked friendly enough, and his black eyes sparkled with mischievousness. 

The man next to him had dark, very tanned skin and his eyes were gray, reflecting off a strange light. He had a cross on a chain over his neck and wearing a field plate that made him look exactly like a crusader. His hair was cut in a buzz cut-a black fuzz covering his entire head. He looked very solemn…and very holy.

"Moranah, I thank the good Lord you returned to us," he said.

"What? Where the fuck am I? And who's Moranah?"

The man sitting on the bed who had just gave her a drink looked down at her. "You don't…remember?"

"Kail," the Amazon looked sternly at him. "Tyrael said to let her remember by herself."

"Tyrael?" Moran said. "The archangel? He's damned thing that pulled me into this fucking place. And I want to go home. Now. And my name is Moranah. It's Moran."

"Damned Tyrael?" The large man looked taken back. "Wow. Wait till Tyrael hears this."

"Shut up, Thor," The Amazon said. "Listen…Moran. First, of all, you're a sorceress."

"I know," Moran said, rolling her eyes. "And my mother was Barney the Purple Dinosaur."

"Dinosaur?" The crusader-like man looked at her. 

"Nothing," Moran sighed. "And why am I here?"

"You belong here," Nikan said. "And-"

She got off into a very long paragraph, talking about Diablo, The Lord of Terror and how he was taking over the earth. She explained a few more things, about how a sorceress who was Moran was killed by Diablo and to bring her back, they will have to go through killing all the demons again…

Moran only got the part that she was pulled into this world against her will.

"I want to go back home," she said. "Tell Tyrael that I want out of here."

"We can't do that," Nikan said.

"Why?" Moran asked.

"The portal opens only twice, once before Diablo is killed, another after Diablo is killed," Nikan said. "So…the only way for you to go back is after you killed Diablo."

Moran sighed. "So I have to stay with you?"

"Yes."

"Damn," she swore. But a tiny part of her was starting to feel excited. Killing off demons sounded a damn more intresting than…well, getting detention and eating aspirin in the nurse's office.

"Well…should we introduce?" Thorn asked. "I'm Thor, a barbarian."

"Cheers."

"That's Ollan, the paladin."

"He's not a crusader?"

"I was…long ago," Ollan said.

"That's Nikan. She's an-"

"Amazon," Moran said.

"And that man on your bed," Thorn said. "His name is Kail. He's a necromancer."

She looked up at him and was surprised as he lay his large hand on hers. "You don't remember?"

Her heart burned with the same pain. Stop it, she commanded herself. She drew her hand away. "No."

The Necromancer looked away and trotted out of the tent.

"Oh, for goodness sakes…give me something to wear," she said after noticing she was naked underneath the covers.

Nikan handed her pair of leather pants and a cream shirt. "Come outside when you're done." She left with the others and shut the tent.

Moran swung her legs of the bed and winced as her feet hit the dirt floor faster than she expected. The bed was very low.

She was starting to lace up one of the short heavy boots on her legs when she heard them talking outside her tent. She moved closer to the right.

"Damn it, I can't believe it," she heard Kail, the Necromancer say. "She's not Moranah! She doesn't act like Moranah at all!"

"Stop it, Kail," Nikan said, sounding pale. "Of course she's Moranah. She just needs time to remember, that's it."

"Hell, it's almost like another person in Moranah's skin," Kail said, sounding angry, although Moran swear she heard a sob. "She looks perfectly like Moranah but she acts so…"

"Give her time to adjust," Ollan said. "How would you feel if you were dragged into another world against your will?"

"I want to be alone. And tell…Moran not to give the Rogues and us any trouble. You know what? I'm starting to regret this."

Moran felt her skin ripple. What did she do?


	3. Awakening Powers

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan.

Oh, and so might as well know, you might have noticed that all the characters already have skills such as the Amazon with the Plague Spear, the Barbarian with the Howl and so on, is because the story takes place in Hell Mode. Thank you. J

Chapter Two: Awakening Powers

She finished lacing up the last lace on her boot and walked out of the tent. Surrounding her was a wooden fortress built from rotting logs, sickened chickens, wagons, and a cow chewing a pile of hay. It looked like a silly excuse for a fortress. A couple of tall woman, all with hair tied up on top of their heads, carrying bows, and wearing the same uniform stood on guard wherever there was an opening. The sky above her rumbled with thunder and the wind chilled her down to the bones.

"Good, you're done," Nikan said, taking her hands. "Come on."

She led her down to a purple tent, one of the largest in the encampment. "Stay here," Nikan said and walked up to the doorway. "Akara," she said softly. "She's here."

Nikan bent down and helped an old woman wearing a purple cloak out of the tent. Her hood was pulled up to conceal her face from view. She walked up to Moran and laid an aging hand on her shoulder.

"My child…sorceress, welcome back," the woman said. "I am Akara. High priestess of the rogues."

"Yeah…I'm Moran," Moran said. 

"Do you remember…anything at all?"

"Remember what?" Moran asked. "I'm sorry but…"

"Can you fight?" Akara asked.

"Fight? Well, I had a couple of tae kwon do lessons," she shrugged.

"What?"

"Martial arts of the east," Moran said, sighing. She had to remind herself what part and what _century_ she was in. "I'm not htat good though."

"If you can fight then…you will remember your skills when time comes," Akara nodded. 

"First of all, what are my skills you're talking about?" Moran asked.

"Elemental powers…lightning, ice, and fire," Akara said. "Each one of you has your own unique powers. The Amazon deals with bows and javelin magic as well as passive and magic skills. The barbarian deals with war cries and melee attack skills. The paladin-holy auras and sacrifice. The necromancer…deals with bringing creatures back from the dead, to fight for him."

Moran shut her eyes.

_Blood. Everywhere. She was floating…she was looking down at a corpse…it looked like her…Oh god it is her! She was looking down at her own dead body! _

And suddenly, the bones rose from the corpse and stood up, holding balls of fire in its hands.

"MORAN!"

She gasped and fell to her knees, gripping her chest. She tried to suck in a breath, but can't!

"Someone get me water!" 

She felt something very cold and very, very wet slosh over her head. The pain in her chest stopped immediately and the world came into focus.

"Ah-" She sat back, shivering. Apparently, Thorn the Barbarian had come running up with a bucket the size of a dog washtub and thrown all of the contents over her head.

"What happened?" She groaned.

"You were on fire!" Thorn bellowed. "What did you do?"

"I don't know!" Moran gasped, looking down at her shirt. It was burnt. "I saw…I saw myself. I was dead and a there was a she-bang skeleton holding fire coming out of it!"

Thorn dropped the bucket. "Nikan…"

"I know," the Amazon said. "Is that all?"

"Did I say anything else?" Moran asked.

"Why don't you all…rest for awhile," Akara said. "Tomorrow you have to cleanse the Den of Evil." 

"Are you up to it?" Thorn lay a heavy hand on Moran's slumped shoulder.

"What? Cleaning the Den of Evil? Give me a bucket of Magic Klean and sure," Moran said, rubbing her chest. "Yeah…I guess. But I don't have anything to fight with."

"We have your staff, some armor, amulets," Nikan said. 

"A staff? Why not a sword?" 

"A staff's a sorceress's prime weapon," Nikan said, helping Moran to her feet. "Yours is pretty good too, it's a rare staff, containing many powers."

"Uhm," Moran started walking back to the tent when she noticed Kail the Necromancer standing by himself looking out to the moor. "Is he all right?" She suddenly asked, without meaning too.

"He'll be fine, a moment in depression," Nikan shrugged as they came to their tent. "Go in and rest.Unless you want to eat?"

"Roasted porcupines with foot long quills?" Moran suggested.

Nikan laughed. "Try Gargantuan Beast meat."

"A what?"

Morning came faster than she thought it would, and before Moran even knew, she already had breakfast (roasted chicken and goat milk, no sign of Gargantuan meat), and was stretching out in hers and Nikan's tent. She knew better than to go out and killing demons in stiff muscles. She arched her back and raised her arms above her head.

"Nearly done?" Nikan dashed in, with her breastplate hanging off half her chest. 

"You need help with that?" Moran offered. "I can tie the strings at the back."

"Sure, thanks," Nikan turned her back and Moran tied the leather thons together. Amazing, her fingers seem to know how to do it. After it being securely tied, the Amazon sat down on the bed and began pulling on the heavy chain boots.

"Where's my…ah-stuff?" Moran asked.

"Over there, in the trunk," Nikan mumbled while holding her belt in her mouth. 

Moran flipped over the latch and pulled it open. She blinked in amazement. Inside was a heavy breastplate, similar to Nikan's except it was made for her size and was the color of flaming copper. There was a circlet with six spikes protruding from it, two rings, a necklace, and a staff as tall as she was with a large, clear crystal on top of the knot. Rummaging deeper underneath folds of silk to keep the metal from rubbing, she found a pair of gold gauntlets and plated boots.

"You know-" Nikan paused to fit in healing potions into her belt. "You're the one who found the most unique items among us. The Doomfingers gauntlets, Spirit Blazer boots, Eye of the Raven amulet…and that crown. We know it's life stealing, but rumor says it used to belong to King Leoric himself."

"Leoric?"

"Long before Diablo possessed the body of the warrior who defeated him, King Leoric was the ruler of Tristram. When his son had disappeared, the old King went mad and…it's a long story. Anyway, when he became the Skeleton King by a horrible, terrible mistake, he wore that crown. How you managed to find it…I still don't know," Nikan finished with her armor. "I'm going outside to warm up. Dress quickly."

Moran slipped on her things, finding them not heavy at all…which was the strangest thing she had ever felt. Even stranger, the moment she picked up her staff, she felt power oozing from it and into her fingers. She gripped it tighter and walked out to where the others were waiting.

"Morning, Moran," Ollan the paladin said.

"Hey," she answered. Kail lifted his head up a little and looked at her. She swallowed and looked away. There was something in his piercing green stare that she can't look at. If she did, her heart would start to feel that pain again. __

_Don't look at me like that_, she said in her head. _Please_…

"So do we set out?" Thorn broke the silence. "My axe is waiting to drink the blood of the enemies."

"And they're waiting to drink you're blood too," Kail said, fingering his war sword. 

"Where's your spirit, friend?" Thorn slapped him on the shoulder so hard he staggered. "Come on."

They set out to the gate and one of the rogues said, "Beware. Don't die too quickly."

They head out to the Blood Moor.

"Dammit! What am I suppose to do!" Moran shouted with terror at the zombies surrounding her. They were all Minion Zombies, plus a boss. A few Devilkins mingled with them, shaking their fists and screaming, "Back off!" and "Maka Buchu! Ya ya ya!"

"SHIT!" She gasped as a fireball from the Devilkin Shaman aimed straight for her. She ducked and heard it hit the wall above her, scattering rocks over them. As she got up again, one of the zombies struck her across the face.

Her face flipped to the side.

Warm blood pooled down to her throat.

Anger burst through her.

"DIE YOU MAGGOT!" She screamed, kicking out at the zombie. "Die, die, die!"

She grabbed one of the oil potions scattered on the ground and threw it at the zombie. Most of them dropped into a mangled pile of severed arms and torsos. She killed the rest by knocking it sharply with her staff.

She ran to the Devilkin Shaman. "Think you're so smart-have a piece of this!"

She shoved the end of her staff straight into its pudgy stomach and lifted it up high into the air. The Shaman screamed out words, probably calling out to its servants. Blood ran down her staff and poured into her hands. Devilkin ran up to her, screaming and shaking their fists.

"Ya, ya, ya, ya, _back off_!" They screamed.

She brought the screaming Shaman swinging down, crushing some of the other Devilkin flat. She stepped on the head and pulled the corpse off her staff, breathing loudly.

A beam of light made its way into the Den of Evil.

Smiling, she turned to meet the others in the cave. They were all gaping at her.

"Wow," Thorn said. "Moranah never fought like that."

"You just cleanse this place out," Ollan said. 

"You gave the Devilkin quite a fright," Nikan laughed. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine…wow," she looked at her bloody hands and the staff.

"You-you have a gash across your cheek," Kail said.

Moran touched the side of her face and winced.

"Here-" Kail came up to her. "Stay still…this will hurt."

He soaked a piece of cloth with some sort of strange, oily liquid and brought it to her face. She cried out.

"Ow!" She gasped. "Damn…that hurts so much!"

"Suppose to," Kail tucked the cloth back into his belt and handed her a potion of healing. "Drink this."

"T-Thanks," she said as she took it from him, her fingers slightly brushing his. She looked into his eyes and was surprised to find the pained look gone from them. He smiled.

"Let's go back," he said. "Akara will sure have a reward waiting for us."

"Like what? Blood Raven tomorrow?" Ollan cleaned the blood from his sword. 

"Oooh, I forgotten Blood Raven!" Nikan moaned.

"Blood Raven?" Moran asked. 

"Once a rogue, now a beast that's taller than Thorn and has a head of a bull," Kail hissed.

"Literally?" Moran asked.

"He means she really does have a head of bull, horns and everything," Nikan said. 

"Come on."

They trudged out of the cave, and surprisingly, the Blood Moor was washed in sunlight, almost in a mocking way. They all stood still for a moment, letting the light bathe over them. Moran took a deep breath of the air and felt the wind lift her hair a little.

"Come on, we have work to do, someone cast a portal," Ollan said. "Moran."

She fished out one of the blue scrolls and looked at Nikan. "Um…"

"Just open it and throw where you want the portal to be."

She shrugged and ripped open the ribbon. She threw it over Thorn's head and it burst into a floating, cloudy blue thing that shimmered. It looked familiar…

"Hey! That's the same thing that dragged me here!" She said.

"Of course it's the same thing," Thorn said. "It's a portal. If it's red it basically means you're going somewhere dangerous. If it's blue that means it transports you to the nearest town. It's actually pretty simple."

"Much more simple than your elemental magic," Kail looked at her. "Are you _sure_ you can't do any of it."

"I'll try…but I don't know how," she threw her hands into the air, frustrated. "I'm sorry…"

She screamed as a fire bolt burst from her fingers. "Ah-" She gasped.

"Hey, you're doing it!" Nikan almost jumped up and down. "Do it again! I believe it comes from your anger!"

She focused her thoughts on the thing that angered her. Kingsley, her history teacher…

"One big fire bolt-" she hissed. A jet of flame came from her hands.

"Whoa! Inferno!" Thorn said. "We're getting somewhere. Whoa…that must've been three yards or more."

"Moranah was never big on fire spells," Kail said. "She was more of ice."

"Well, THIS Moranah has got a temper," Moran said. "I'm sorry, Kail. If fire doesn't suit you, then fine."

"Did I SAY anything? I just said Moranah was never big on fire," he shrugged. "Sorry."

"I can probably do ice if I'm calmer," Moran said, stepping into the portal and walked, nearly running into Kashya. "Oh, sorry."

"Watch it, sorceress," Kashya said. "Back so soon?"

"We cleansed the place out," Thorn said, coming after her with Ollan and Nikan.

"Where's Kail?" Moran asked.

"Probably resurrecting mages and golems, that sort of thing," Nikan shrugged. "Plenty of fresh corpses around." 

Three skeletons holding various elements in their hands walked through the portal along with a steel golem. One of the skeletons looked at her. It was holding balls of fire in its hands.

She staggered. Her vision was blurring.

Skeleton…skeleton mage…. she sucked in a breath as she felt someone take her hand and tried to support her. Skeleton mage…must resurrect from a corpse…she's been one…

No! Shut up! 

Blackness swept over her again, this time, pain raged from the tip of her head down to her feet.

__


	4. Losing Regrets

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan.

Oh, and so might as well know, you might have noticed that all the characters already have skills such as the Amazon with the Plague Spear, the Barbarian with the Howl and so on, is because the story takes place in Hell Mode. Thank you. J

Chapter Three: Regrets Leaving

Kail dipped the cloth in the metal bowl and gently touched it to Moran's face. The girl stirred, but didn't open her eyes. 

She looked so much like Moranah…but her personality…Kail sighed. Moran was mostly sweet, and did not work well with fire elements at all. He didn't know a lot about sorceress magic, but he knew enough that personality had a lot to do with it. Fiery tempered sorceress worked well with fire, while cool temper sorceresses did very well with ice. He didn't know much about lightning.

But, this Moran girl seemed interesting. The way she fought was quite a strategy, the way she pierced the Devilkin Shaman and brought him down on the others. He gently brushed the side of her face to get

"Ow-" She gasped as he touched the wound on her cheek.

He flinched and jerked his hand back. "Ai!"

"Oh…sorry," she gasped and rolled on her back. "Did I scare you?"

"No…no," he heard his golem and skeleton mages outside chuckle.

"Oh man," she grabbed her forehead. "Oh, what I would do for an aspirin."

"A what?" He asked.

"Medicine," she said. "My head hurts."

He shrugged. "Fresh air? The rogue cleared off a meadow with passive magic, we can go sit there for awhile."

"What about what's-her-name?" Moran sat up. "Blood Raven?"

"We don't go until Kashya reports something," he said, offering her a hand. "Maybe Akara has something you can take."

She paused before taking his hand and he pulled her up. She rolled her shoulders back and forth. "Okay, I'm ready."

They walked out, past his skeleton mages and golem. They started to walk after him but he shook his head.

"Can they actually talk?" Moran asked.

"What? Oh, you mean them?" He gestured to the creatures. "Yes, they can talk. And laugh."

"I know," she smiled. "I heard them. Where are the others?"

"Thorn's probably off with Nikan, looking through Charsi's armor and weapons," he said. "Ollan's probably off to do some praying."

"Charsi?"

"The blacksmith here," Kail said.

"And who's the other two guys?" Moran pointed to Gheed and Warriv.

"Warriv's the one who drives a trading caravan from here to the East," he said. "And that's Gheed-he doesn't like me."

"Yeah."

He led her past the rogues and out to the meadow. He could easily make out the safe boundary line-the sky was clearer and the grass greener than the other side of the Blood Moor.

"Well, you can't always say the grass is greener than the other side," Moran joked as they sat down side by side on the grass. She drew her knees up to her chest. They sat in silence for a while.

"Can I ask you something?" Moran said. "Why doesn't Gheed like you?"

"Not a lot of people do," Kail threaded his fingers through the soft grass, billowing gently in the wind. "I'm Necromancer, dealing with the dark. Raising things back to life."

"But you don't do them for evil purposes," she said. "Do you?"

"Well, my magic deals with light, yes," Kail said. "But resurrecting skeletons and cursing seems to be evil."

"You would fit well in my world," Moran said. "But in my true opinion…you're not evil at all."

He felt her head rest on his shoulder. He didn't know whether it was because she was tired, or she was starting to remember…things. He considered threading his fingers through hers but decided it would be too much.

"You know," he said. "We used to come out here a lot, when you were still Moranah."

"And what did you two do?" Moran asked. "What were you two anyway?"

"Very good friends," he said. "I miss her."

"Well, I'm probably the next best thing as close as she is," she lifted her head off his shoulder. "Sorry, Kail."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I-"

"HELP!"

"Flavie!" He cried, seeing the rogue half walking, half limping towards them. She was about a hundred yards away, and what he could see, he could tell she was hurt badly and her bowstring was shredded. A colony of Black Rogues, all of them carrying axes were moving behind her with menace.

"Hold on, Flavie!" He cried. "Moran, stay here. I'm going to get my wand-"

"No!" She shouted. "Can't you see she's dying out there?!"

"Do you know what a pack of rogues like that can do?" He grabbed on her arm. "Stay here, Moran!"

"No, let me go!" She tore from his grip and ran from the borderline of safety. 

He swore and ran after her.

"Hey! Here!" Moran cried, waving her arms and trying to call the Black Rogues' attention. They ignored her, going for the weaker, dying flesh.

"Damn!" She cried. "Kail, take her to safety!"

"What?" He panted and grabbed Flavie before she fell. 

"Take her to safety, I'll take care of these mother fuckers!" Moran cried, running straight for the rogues.

"Damn…" Flavie fell unconscious and he slung her over his shoulder with difficulty, and ran for the borderline. 

Panting, he slipped and managed to toss Flavie into safety. He picked himself up and ran back to Moran. He didn't want to think about what might be left of her.

"Come on! That's it!"

He felt his mouth dropped open. Moran had somehow remembered to use her Blaze skill. Running a few yards ahead of the rogues with fire dancing from her heels, she was able to roast the dark sisters as they followed her. One of the rogues caught sight of him and ran, her burnt, gray flesh flapping on her bones as she made her way to him.

"Not too fast-" He released his Den'Trag. Four, sharp teeth belonging to the Dragon Trag'Oul shot out and struck the Black Rogue, ripping through her stomach. Her soul drifted in bluish green smoke in the shape of a woman as she cried out her pain and died.

Moran walked up to him, panting loudly, grabbing onto her side. "Ow…"

He took her arm. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, but I got a stitch, hurts like crazy," she gasped for air and sat down on the grass. "Oh, having a pack full of…what do you call those?"

"Black Rogues, corrupted Rogues, Sister of the Dark," Kail said.

"-is no picnic," Moran said. "When you have a bunch of them trailing your heels."

"But you fixed them right, roasted them all," he grinned.

She laughed. "Heh, I didn't know what I did."

"You know-" He helped her up to her feet. "You're cooperating."

"Thanks, I know," she said. "Better than just sitting around while everyone kills everything, eh?"

They made their way back to Flavie who was just starting to wake up. "Ah-I hurt so much," she said.

"What happened? Why did you leave your post between the Blood Moor and the Cold Plains?" He asked. "Kashya's not going to be happy."

She brushed back a strand of red hair. "The Burial Grounds. Blood Raven-she-she's resurrecting our rogues into zombies! Zombies, can you believe it? I left my post to see what's going on when I heard those screams. She got me."

"Blood Raven?" Moran asked.

"That lightning arrow of hers, yes!" Flavie said. "Nearly killed me!" 

"Come on, can you walk-" Kail winced as he saw the raw, pus oozing wound that zombies caused on her leg. He bent down and let her balance on his shoulder. "Moran-can you go alert the others? And tell Kashya."

"Got it," Moran dashed off.

With Flavie groaning every few steps, it took them nearly five minutes to reach the heart of the camp, where Thorn and Nikan were holding Kashya back. Her face was red and she had her bow out and a small, hunter's dagger in her other hand.

"Let me go!" She screamed. "Blood Raven deserves to go to Hell!"

"Kashya-stay still!" Thorn gasped. Even he was having trouble holding her still. "You can't go!"

"Why?" She writhed.

"The Rogues need you," Nikan said, struggling to hold the Rogue down. "If you die-" 

"I'll die anyway!"

"All right, I can't stand this any more!" Moran shouted and slapped Kashya across the face.

Kail felt his mouth drop open as he let go of Flavie.

Nikan gasped.

"Look!" Moran grabbed Kashya's shoulders, which were looking as if Andariel had challenged her to an archery contest. "Why do you think we're here? Why do you think we're here? Too let you go get yourself killed?"

Kashya slumped as if she had just lost a battle.

"Kashya, I'm sorry," Moran whispered.

"No, you did what you had too," Kashya wiped off a speck of blood on her lip. "Go, heroes."

"You and Kail stay here," Thorn said to Moran. "You've already did your part."

"But-"

"No," Nikan said. "Rest."

Kail shrugged. "If that's what you want…"

"Wonderful," Nikan dashed off to get Ollan with Thorn trailing behind her. 

"I'll take Flavie to Akara," Kashya said.

"Who'll take care of the post between Blood Moor and the Cold Plains?" Kail helped Flavie to her feet and onto Kashya's strong shoulders.

"I'll send someone," balancing, Kashya slowly walked away to Akara's purple tent.

"Well," Moran said.

"Yes," Kail rubbed his arms, which were stained from Flavie's blood. "Are you all right?"

"Of course I'm all right," Moran said. "I'm going inside for awhile-no, what do you think we go help Charsi?"

"Help Charsi?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Why not?" Moran said. "We may buy her things with our own gold, but we can help can't we?"

Kail grinned. "All right. Let me go get cleaned up first. I'll see you."

He was starting to feel his regret leaving.


	5. Falling in the Tower

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan. J

Chapter Four: Falling in the Tower

Moran woke up a few hours later and rubbed her aching muscles. Working with Charsi had drained her of more energy than fighting with demons had.

She swung her legs of the bed and stretched. Red haze was coming through the tent, telling her that sundown was approaching. She stretched and rubbed her body, finding it to be sticky with old sweat. She sighed. It would be a wonder if they had a shower in this place. No harm asking though, she thought, grabbing thick cloths that she assumed were towels at the bottom of her chest.

She walked out, and there were still no signs of the others. She stopped by the men's tent and peeked in. Kail was there on his bed, shirtless, his hair askew over his face, and breathing softly. She grinned for no reason and quietly shut the flap. She trotted over to Kashya who was sitting alone next to a cow.

"Um…Kashya?"

"What-oh, it's you," she said. Moran hesitated. The slap was definitely still in her mind. 

"Hey-uh, is there a shower around here-" At Kashya's blank look, she sighed. "You know, a place to bathe?"

"Yes," the Rogue looked relieved. "There's one behind Charsi's tent. No hot water though, it's a spring. If you want hot water you have to heat it up yourself in a bucket. There's a washtub-"

"No, cold water's fine," Moran shifted her towels over her shoulder.

"If only we were at the Monastery," Kashya sighed. "We had deep baths carved into the stone floors with fire spells underneath to heat the water."

"Well, I guess I'll have to come back and experience it after we've cleaned out the place and kick Andariel's ass out of it,"Moran grinned. "Heard she's pretty venomous."

"Let's hope you can do it," Kashya said.

"We will, we did once," Moran left before Kashya could ask her more questions. She found the "bathing place" behind Charsi's tent-it wasn't much at all. Just a couple of long pieces of cloth tied around stakes of wood to create a screen. Behind it was a couple of large stones surrounding a pool of spring water. Someone had left a bar of squashy pine soap on one of the rocks.

She placed the towels on the rock and stuck a foot into the water. She nearly yelped because of the cold, but slowly, her body became used to it. She sank into the cold water and reached for the bar of soap.

Scrubbing herself, she heard the tent open.

"AH!" She threw the closest thing she could find, which was the soap at the intruder. She gasped and reached for the towels, throwing it over her body. The next thing she grabbed to throw was a fist-sized rock she found in the water.

"Stop…" someone moaned from outside.

"Kail?" Holding the towel securely, she peeked outside. There he was on the floor, with the remains of the soap over his left eye. 

"You hit me on the eye-hurts," he winced. "And soap stings too."

"Well you shouldn't have walked in!" She said.

"I didn't know you were inside! Honestly…" he said. "I was still groggy from sleep-"

"Hold on out there, I'm nearly done," she stuck her head inside and rinsed off a bit more soapsuds before she slipped on her clothes. "Okay-"

She walked out, drying her hair. Scowling, she looked at Kail who was hunting for the remains of the soap. "You didn't see much of anything did you?"

"How could I?" He recovered a large hunk underneath some grass. It was covered with dirt. "You were in the water and you threw the soap at my eye. Good reflex."

"Luck," she laughed. "Well, enjoy your bath. Sorry about the soap."

"Do you know how hard it is to find soap around here?" He grumbled and walked inside. "Damn…"

Still laughing, Moran noticed that the others were back. They all looked tired and worn out. Thorn was lugging a couple of large things in his backpack that was bulging to the point of bursting.

"How was…Blood Sparrow?" 

"Raven," Nikan said and glanced at Ollan.

"Hey! It wasn't ALL my fault," Ollan said.

"What happened?" Moran asked.

"He was using his Sacrifice spell a little too many times than he should be…" Nikan said. "He was really low in lifeblood-"

"I SAID IT"S NOT ALL MY FAULT"

"I started to drag him out before another one of Blood Raven's arrows struck him-" Nikan stuck her tongue through her cheek. "He thought I was one of her minion or something and damn him-he struck me clear across the head with his scepter."

"You didn't!" Moran said.

"At least I managed to dodge but it stilled grazed by forehead," Nikan grumbled.

"Sorry, I-I was…"

"Next time, _look_," Nikan growled underneath her breath. 

Moran shrugged and looked at Thorn. "You need help with…all that?"

"Nah, Charsi's gonna be happy when she get these," he grinned and heaved the pack down to the ground. "Unless you want something?"

"No thanks," Moran stretched. 

"Where's Kail?"

"Taking a bath," she started to walk away to get a drink. While she was shoveling handfuls of water into her mouth from the spring, she noticed Kail walking towards the others, his hair dripping wet, making small rivers across his broad shoulders and down to his chest.

Actually, Moran wiped her mouth. He doesn't have a bad body. Not bad at all. The broad, strong muscles…that six-pack on his stomach-

Shut up! She turned away. What was wrong with her? She suddenly felt guilty for acting like a ditz. Literally.

She shook her head angrily and turned her eyes and body away from the Necromancer.

"Moran?"

"Yeah?"

Ollan poked his head into the tent. "Hey-do you want to come watch Thorn in a drinking match with Charsi?"

"What-WHAT THE?" Moran dropped her gold stash. "_Charsi_?"

"We won't get a change to celebrate like this…for a long time," Ollan said. "Tomorrow we have to rescue Deckard Cain from Tristram, and clear out the Blood Baroness's Tower. We'll get Charsi's mallet and kill Andariel sometimes later."

"What?" Moran only got half of it.

"Never mind," Ollan sighed. "Are you coming or not?"

"Thorn wouldn't be able to fight with a hangover tomorrow," Moran threw her gold into her stash. 

"Oh, he will," Ollan said. 

She finished getting her things together and followed the paladin to the heart of the encampment. Everybody in the camp including Kashya's rogues, were all in a circle surrounding Charsi and Thorn.

"MORE!" Thorn bellowed, throwing his bottle high in the air. A few rogues scattered as the bottle came back down to earth. It bounced a few times on the grass instead of breaking. Gheed handed the barbarian another bottle of ale and he swig in down in one gulp.

"For a barbarian, you're as weak as a weakling-" Charsi said, her voice wavering a little. She downed two more bottles of ale and staggered a bit.

"Where did they get all this ale from?" Moran whispered to Ollan.

"Ale's easy to make here, and I bet the rogues manage to smuggle a lot from the monastery," he shrugged. "And Gheed always has a lot of ale too."

"WAAAAAH!" The barbarian cried, swinging his bottle. "Watch me swallow-"

He fell down on his face and gurgled.

Roars erupted as they kicked Thorn and tried to wake him up but no such luck, he lay still and snored.

"Yeaaaaaaa!" Charsi screamed. "I win-I win-I-"

She dropped down beside Thorn, breathing softly.

Moran saw Kashya clucked her tongue in disgust, at both of them. 

"I can't believe Charsi's a drinker," Moran smiled. 

"Oh, she's not," Ollan grinned back. "It's just that she can't resist it when she meets her ancient descendents. Most barbarians are drinkers, you know?" 

"Someone help me get this pig into the tent," Nikan panted, trying to drag a snoring Thorn over to them. Ollan and Moran each grabbed a bulging arm of muscle and sinew and with effort, the grunting three heaved Thorn into his tent and rolled him into his bed.

"Sleep tight," Moran rolled her eyes and rubbed her arms. 

"Where's Kail? I haven't seen him at all after we came back," Nikan asked. 

"He's probably out, letting the wind stream through that silky hair of his," Ollan joked. "Ah, you know Kail. That boy likes to stay out by himself, enjoying the feel of nature at its most."

"Sentimental Necromancer," Nikan laughed. "Sentimental Necromancer."

Moran let the early morning wind stream through her hair and face. She breathed in the fresh air, mixed with the scent of fire, roasted meat, but very, very faint-blood. She stretched and walked out to the small cleared meadow.

Kail was there, standing in the wind. His hands folded across his chest, one foot on a rock. He looked out in the distance, as if he was the only one living in the world and time didn't matter.

Moran couldn't help but stare. It looked so beautiful, like carved stone. A piece of pure art.

Art…

"Kail! Don't move-"

The Necromancer flinched. "What?"

"Kail! Don't move! Hold that pose-" Moran looked around frantically. She needed paper…and a pencil-no, no pencil. This is going to be hard…

"Nikan!" She yelled to the Amazon. "I need paper-um, a blank scroll. A-ah, parchment! Can you get me any?"

Nikan looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Well…Akara might have some."

"Yes, and charcoal…a long piece would be good? Please?"

Nikan ran off. "Alright!" 

Moran quickly ran back, pleased to see that Kail had remained in his same pose, although he looked a bit stiff.

"Good, just stay there," she said.

"Why?" He turned his head.

"No!"

"Sorry," he laughed and resumed his pose.

"Here," Nikan shoved an empty scroll and a piece of charcoal into her hands.

Moran ran the charcoal several times on a rock to thin it out a bit and smoothed out the parchment. This was going to be messy, without an eraser but she could managed.

She sketched out his frame first with circles and lines, and then slowly added details. The rough oval of his face turned soft and the eyes gleamed with light. She managed to draw in the small details of his shirt and boots even with the hunk of charcoal. Finally, she was done.

"Okay, you can move now."

Kail's shoulders nearly slumped from exhaustion. "What-can I see it?"

She gave him the scroll and his eyes widened. "Wow, Moran. That's-that's incredible."

"I've always liked art," she grinned. "This one's kind of rough, the charcoal was a little big."

"Wow…" he continued to look at it. "Thanks." 

Nikan was awestruck too. "That _is_ amazing."

"Hey, I'll do you, Ollan, and Thorn next if you want," Moran said.

"Can't," Nikan said. "Duty awaits."

"Here's the deal," Thorn said. "Nikan and I are going to clear out the Bloody Baroness's Tower, Ollan-"

"Tristram's easier to handle than the tower," Kail said. "Why don't Nikan and Ollan go out to Tristram and the rest of us go to the Tower?"

"And then we meet at the Monastery?" Ollan asked.

"Right," Thorn nodded. "But if we don't see each other…"

"We'll just meet in town, all right?" Kail said. "One of you can alert the Waypoint at the Monastery then we can all go."

Moran didn't get any of it.

"All right, so…good luck," Nikan said. "Watch out for the creaky stairs in the Tower."

"Ah…Tower…Bloody Baroness? Someone explain?" Moran asked as Nikan and Ollan left.

"Well, actually she's the _Countess_," Thorn grinned. "But we like to go by Baroness. It's a better name for someone who bathes in virgin blood, eh?"

"Huh?" Moran turned to Kail. 

"Well, long ago, there was a Countess who lived in a tower in the Black Marsh," Kail said. "We don't know the whole story, but she killed a hundred virgins-or more-and bathed in the rejuvenating blood. I think her fellow workers murdered her and they split her money among themselves, but the tale goes on that there are more gold left in the Tower-and the Countess of Blood still lives there, guarding what was left of her gold."

"And it's worth risking our necks to get some crappy gold pieces?" Moran rubbed her throat.

"Oh, it's worth it," Thorn grinned. "Just watch where you're stepping."

"Oh man, this place is creepy," Moran said as she wiped a drop of Yeti blood off her staff. She immediately cast a Frozen Armor charm over her body. Kail cast a Bone Armor charm, and Thorn did nothing. His muscles and danger was armor enough.

They moved as quietly as they can over the moldy wood of the Tower. No light managed to make it's way inside. Her armor charm supplied most of the light for them.

Two Night Clan members came bellowing, running up to them with scythes in their hands. Thorn brought them down with his two axes. 

"Mind the stairs," Kail said.

Moran placed a foot down on the wood. 

"No! Not there!" Thorn yelped and made a grab for her.

She shouted as the wood gave away underneath her. Parts of her shirt that was protruding from her armor ripped as she went down. She fell faster and faster, not slowing down at all even with the pieces of protruding wood that crunched and gave away when she fell on them.

"SHIT!" She gasped and made a grab for something, anything! She could almost hear her muscles shriek with agony as she managed to grab something and hand on more than a mere second. But it slowed her fall down a great deal. The wood cracked and she fell down into the blackness.

"Ah!" She gasped with pain as her body hit something solid. Ground. Good, solid ground.

She rubbed her arms, moaning. She was on stone, a stone ground. If she weren't inside, she would have thought it was raining. Very cold, fresh water was pouring down on her, soothing the burning cuts. 

She wiggled every part of her body, glad to know that she was very sore, but nothing was broken.

"Are you hurt my child?"

She screamed and looked around for her staff. It was gone.

"No, no," the voice came again. "Don't be afraid."

Moran turned and nearly shouted again. There was some sort of…tub? Bath? All she knew was that there was a woman lying in it. Her skin was pale, and her hair was a deep rich reddish brown. Her lips were so red it looked like she had used up a whole tube of tomato lipstick. 

"Who-what are you?"

The woman laughed. "Join my bath?"

Moran narrowed her eyes. "What?"

The woman stood up and the sound of whooshing liquid came from the bath. A single beam of light fell from nowhere and landed on her.

Moran choked and gagged.

The woman had been bathing in _blood_. Streams of blood ran down her shoulders and body that was reddened by the liquid. She tilted her head back with a loud _ah_.

Moran heard herself whimper and covered her mouth to silence it.

"Even better," the woman said. "You'll _be_ my bath!"

"You're-you're the Countess!" Moran gasped.

"Your blood will boil."

The blood ran down from the Countess's body, leaving it clear as if she had just took a bath. The smooth body suddenly bulged muscle, and the flawless white skin turned the color of rotten azure. The beautiful hair turned straight, and limp and darkened down to an inky black. Armor grew from her flesh and covered the naked body. A flaming mace appeared in her right hand.

"_Die_!"

"KAIL! THORN! HEEELP!"

"Shh…" Kail held up a finger to silence Thorn. "You hear that?"

"Damn, she's alive!"

"She doesn't have her staff-I think that's the BARONESS!" Kail gasped. "Damn, damn, damn, damn-"

"Well, if she survived the fall-"

"We can probably do it…"

"KAIL! THORN! AHHH-"

Her words were cut short.

"Oh no!" Kail said and jumped through the hole.

"Ah!" Moran gasped as she was thrown backwards. She skidded across the wet floor and aimed a bolt of ice at the Countess. Her aim was off as she heard it hit the wall.

She heard a splash somewhere across the room, and a few moments later, she heard Thorn gave an almighty Barbaric shout that improved defense.

"HERE!" 

He tossed her staff and she caught it. Filled with new determination, she rushed at the Countess of Blood and swung the staff at her legs.

She flipped down with a groaning thud.

"Allow me!" Thorn yelled and swung his axe down.

Moran turned her head away as blood squirted from her neck.

"Job done," Thorn said happily and whistled. "What have we here?"

Moran turned around and saw a humongous chest opened, and a shower of gold fell from it.

"Wow," she gasped as a grinning Thorn shoveled it into his pocket. 

"We'll split later," he smiled. "Hey, where's Kail?" 

Moran looked around, but no sign of the Necromancer. "I don't know…"

The splash.

_Oh my god_…

"NO!" She screamed and ran towards the bath. She gripped the edge with her hands and swung her body into it. The blood was so hot compared to the rest of the tower. She plunged her hands into it, searching.

"Moran! What the hell are you doing?" Thorn said.

She ignored him. The bath was deeper than she thought, the blood nearly reaching her neck. She took a deep breath and went under.

Her hands gripped on something soft.

She came up, gasping and blinking away the blood. She pulled out an unconscious Kail.

"Help me!" She cried.

Thorn came to her side and pulled the Necromancer up.

"Oh my god, don't let him be dead," she whimpered as she looked at him. "He's not breathing!"

"Oh, damn!" Thorn dropped his axe and kneeled down besides Kail. "Oh damn!"

She had to think fast…

"CPR!" She gasped. "Thorn, get back!"

She tore off his armor and parts of his shirt, and then placed her hands on his chest. She pressed down, "One, two three, four…"

"What are you doing?" Thorn's voice was shaking. 

"Shut up!" Her voice cracked as she bent down, holding Kail's nose shut with her fingers and placing her lips over his cold ones. She breathed out.

It seemed to go on forever, the breathing and the pumping of his heart, but finally, he coughed into her mouth.

Moran choked and spit out the blood. Thorn came and rubbed Kail's back as he vomited blood and choked.

"Get him to the water," Moran's voice was shaking. Nodding, Thorn dragged him to where water poured down. The blood was away from his body and he drank the water greedily.

"Hey, calm down," Moran said. "Kail, what happened?"

"My head," he moaned.

She parted away some of the hair and saw a wound. "Ah…you must've been knocked unconscious and sank in that blood," she shook her head. "It's a miracle you didn't die."

"What did you _do_, Moran?" Thorn said, his eyes still wide.

"I'll teach it to you all later," Moran sighed. A tear slid down her cheek and she sniffed hard.

"Touched by me almost dying?" Kail grinned weakly.

"Touched by what she did to you, more like it!" Thorn's eyes were still _very_ wide.

"What?" Kail said, sounding weaker this time.

"Thorn, cast a town portal," Moran said sternly, sliding her hands underneath Kail's arms.

Thorn threw the scroll down and grabbed Kail's legs. "You ready partner?"

"Just mind that-ow!" 

"Is his leg broken?" Moran asked urgently.

"Broken? Lady-" He howled in pain again. "THORN!"

Laughing, he pulled them through the portal.

They thumped back to the Rogue Encampent and Moran was already panting from Kail's weight. She set him down as gently as she could once they reached his bed.

"I'll go see if Akara has a sleeping dote," Thorn said and left.

"Are you all right?" Moran asked.

"I'm fine, except for my head," he said. 

An awkward silence followed. 

"Hey! Cain's here!" Thorn shouted from outside.

Kail jumped and groaned. He grabbed his head.

"You need help?" Moran offered him a hand and bit her lip from laughing.

Surprised, he took it.


	6. Andariel's Last Pain

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan. J

Chapter Five: Andariel's Last Pain

"Kail!" 

"Deckard Cain!" Kail gasped, running towards the weathered old man. The last of the Horadrim held him in his arms, and patted his back like a favorite nephew.

"So pleased to see you again!" Cain said, his voice shaking.

"You…remember?" Kail asked. 

"Of course I do," Cain said into his ear. "Moranah? Is she here?"

Kail took the old man's arm and led him to Moran. "Moran…this is Deckard Cain. The last son of the Horadrim."

"Hi," Moran extended a hand.

"Moranah…" Cain rasped. He took her hand and shook it hard. "Moranah…"

"Please, I prefer to be called Moran," Moran grinned. "Sorry, but Moranah doesn't sound familiar to my ears."

"Alright, alright," Cain said. "What matters is that you are here, with us again."

Moran shrugged. "Yeah…"

"Hey, you three are here!" Ollan said, after noticing them. "What happened-Kail? What's wrong with you? You look all green."

"He had an accident at the Tower," Moran said.

"What happened?" Nikan asked.

"Don't ask, I'll tell you when we have time," Kail said. "Come on, we have to set out to the Monastery. The Horadric Malus is waiting for us." 

"No," Moran pointed a finger at his chest. "You're staying here. No buts. Damn, you can't even walk correctly."

He opened his mouth to protest but Thorn laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, making him stagger. "Moran's right. You stay here, and we'll take your golems and skeletons."

"Fine," he snapped. "I'm not really useful right? Just a necromancer."

"Kail!" 

Every pair of eyes, ranging from Deckard Cain's liquid blues to Moran's deep, warm brown stared at him. 

"You're tired, come on," Thorn grabbed him around the waist and shoved him into the tent. "Get some sleep."

He lost his balance and toppled into Ollan's bed. "And stay there!" Thorn yelled. 

"Damn," he shut his eyes as nausea traveled up his throat. He gagged and covered his mouth.

"Kail?"

"I'll be fine-" he leapt off Ollan's bed, poked his head out of the tent and vomited into the grass.

"Um…you need anything from Akara?" Thorn asked.

"No!" Kail gripped his head. It hurt so much.

"Concussion," Moran said. "If only I had a Tylenol or an aspirin."

"What?" Thorn asked her. 

"Nothing," Moran sighed. "Kail?"

Answering took a lot of effort. "What?" He asked.

"Get to bed," she said and turned to Thorn. "Can you open up the tent? Fresh air's what he needs."

"Sure. Come on, partner," Thorn helped Kail up to his feet and to the bed. He opened up the tent and cool air flowed in. With a grin to his friend, the barbarian left.

"Here," Moran returned with a bottle of clear liquid that looked exactly like water, but it moved like oil, and a bowl of something steaming.

"Here, salty broth helps," she plunked the bowl in front of him. "Drink this and take Akara's potion."

"Thanks," Kail lifted the bowl and set it on the floor. It was burning his legs.

"Kail?" Moran said.

"What?" 

"Promise me you won't leave the bed?" A smile cracked on her lips.

"I promise you nothing," he said, turning his back to her and shut his eyes to sleep.

"Kail?"

"What?"

He felt a pair of soft lips on his cheek.

He opened his eyes and swallowed. Was she? Was she remembering? Could it be?

"That, pal, was because I pity you," she winked. "Don't get any ideas. I think it'll make you feel better though." She left.

Kail could feel a blush creeping up his cheek as he rubbed he spot where she kissed him. _That_ could heal him better than any healing potion if Diablo had struck him on the head with Thorn's body.

Smiling, he shut his eyes and slept.

"Actually, this place is…beautiful," Moran said, looking at the Inner Cloister of the Rogues' Monastery. If she could ignore the bloodstains on the grass and stone, and focus her attention on the fountain, she could deeply appreciate the place. The fountain was what really caught her attention. It was made out of gray granite, and had life-sized stone models of the rogues posing with bows and arrows on it. Clear, shimmering water still flowed from it.

"Amazing how it does not flow with blood," Ollan said darkly. 

"Somehow, Andariel's evil magic didn't get to it," Nikan said. "Drink, it'll give us strength for later on."

Moran dipped her hands into the water and poured it into her mouth.

_By holiness and evilness, I swear to this fountain that I will love you to my dying day_.

"MORAN!"

"Oh!" Moran gasped as she opened her eyes. "What happened?"

"You let a Gargantuan hit you, knocked you out for several seconds," Nikan patted her on the arm. "You feel better?" 

Moran rolled on her arm and saw the beast lying besides her with a huge hole ripped in its chest. "Wow…yeah, I'm fine."

"Let's go," Nikan pulled her up. "The others are already inside, we've got to catch up."

Moran ran after the Amazon, stopping only to freeze a couple of Fallen Shaman on their way into the Barracks. Nikan suddenly shot out an arm, catching Moran in the chest. She wheezed and coughed.

"Watch it," Moran hissed, massaging her chest. "Ow."

"Shh!" Nikan said. "When I tell you duck, duck!"

"Okay," Moran bent her knees.

"DUCK!"

Moran went down on one knee as she heard something whiz above her head, followed by a loud groan and the sounds of blood splattering. Moran felt some of it run down her neck and forehead.

She turned around to find a dead Demon, taller than her by about a head and wider than Thorn by about twice. It had horns growing out from its raw, red baldhead. The little clothing it wore was torn and covered with blood.

"That is The Smith," Nikan said. "He guards the Horadric Malus."

"Wow," Nikan wiped off the blood on her cheek. "How did you see him? It's so dark and he moves like the Hollow Man."

"Amazonian Inner Sight," Nikan grinned. "By the way, what's a Hollow Man?"

Moran laughed. "Nothing, Nikan. Where'd the others?"

"Probably getting the Malus," Nikan said. "Let's go."

They ran through a few more rooms, into what looked like an armory with a-

"What the freak is that?" Moran pointed to a small creature jumping up and down. It was weird looking thing, about the size of a Chihuahua, a face like a rat but with bloated lips, greasy black hair that fell down to its waist, and holding a large cleaver.

"Rat Man," Nikan said, without looking up from pulling the Malus out of a chest. "Step on him."

Moran walked up to it, watching the creature jump up and down. 

"Hey, little guy," she said. "Care to die?"

She swung her staff and it died without a sound.

"Annoying things aren't they?" Nikan said, swinging a forging hammer back and forth in her hands. "Can't believe Andariel has them for her army. Thorn told me they're rats that bloated when Andariel's poison touches them."

"Damn, they look like Chihuahuas," Moran shook her head. "Is that?"

"Yes, it's the Horadric Malus," Charsi grinned. 

"Where _are_ the others?" Moran asked. 

"No idea," Nikan tucked the malus into her backpack. 

"They went off without us?"

"No," Nikan shook her head. "They won't do that. They never did."

Moran's eyes went down to the floor and she noticed two streaks of blood that made a trail. It traveled around the corner and disappeared yet into another room.

"Nikan…look," she pointed to the blood. "We didn't do that did we?"

Nikan suddenly went still. She dropped down on her knees and swiped a finger in the blood. She brought it to her lips.

"NIKAN! What are you doing?" Moran yelled.

"It's human!" Nikan gasped. 

"You don't think…"

"THORN!" Nikan screamed. "OLLAN!"

Her voice echoed along the empty halls.

"Oh my god, what happened to them?" Moran covered her mouth with a hand.

"Wait!" Nikan said. "You don't think-"

"I don't think what?" 

"Look," Nikan grabbed her arms. "Cain said a few, besides us, would remember what happened before this. You don't think _Andariel_…"

"What if…" Moran felt as if someone had swung a club into her middle. "Oh FUCK!"

"Andariel remembered!" Nikan gasped, her hands shaking so hard the javelin fell from her grip. "Andariel remembered! She was ready for us! She took Ollan and Thorn!"

Moran grabbed the amazon's strong arm. "Wait! What if Ollan and Thorn were bait?"

"Well then, I'm a strong fish," Nikan's fist shook angrily. "My mouth is harder than any steel bait. Wait till I get hold of that spider-"

"Then let's go," Moran picked up the javelin and thrust it at Nikan's hand. "Charsi's malus can wait. Thorn and Ollan can't."

"I KNOW Thorn would get us in trouble some day," Nikan hissed. "If I get him out alive, I am going to kill him!"

They ran, following the streaks of blood, running up and down stairs, stopping only twice to finish off a Banished and a group of Ghouls. 

"Nikan!" Moran gasped, clutching the stitch at her side, panting. She took a deep breath. "Slow down!"

Nikan gave off an angry sound, but stopped. Moran ran up to her, clutching her chest. "Where are we?"

"Third floor of the catacombs," she said. "Andariel lies in her throne room the floor below us. See if you have any antidotes."

Moran checked her belt and her bag. "No," she said.

"Damn," Nikan hissed. "Well, when Andariel releases her poison fumes, _try to stay out of the way_."

She disappeared down the stairs, and cursing, Moran ran after her. They were met by a horde of Banished.

"Freeze them, Moran," Nikan hissed. "I'll finish them off."

"Ah!" Moran ducked as one of the Banished shot an exploding ball of fire at them. It grazed her knee, leaving a hissing wound behind. She clutched her leg as blood dripped down her calf.

"Moran! Freeze them!"

She released bolt after bolt of ice, and slowly, what was left of the Banished were their black robes and staves. Pain rang through her leg as she tried to stand up.

"Are you all right?" Nikan asked.

Moran winced as she touched the hissing wound. "I'll be fine. Let's go."

The swung open the door, and a grisly sight met their eyes. Severeal Rogue Sisters were tied up to poles, their bodies charred from fire. A few were decaying on he ground, with broken swords through their hearts.

But what made her heart stop with terror was what she saw on the ground. A large section of the stone was pried away to create a basin, in which was filled with blood and had several naked, decapitated bodies and insides floating in it. Moran gagged.

"Oh my god," she gasped. 

"Andariel…" Nikan pointed to large set of doors. "Lies behind those doors."

Tearing her eyes from the blood and bodies, she gripped her staff and walked slowly to the door. 

"On four, kick it open," Nikan said, clutching her javelin. Moran could see bits of lightning flickering on it.

"One…"

_Please, don't let Thorn and Ollan die_, Moran prayed.

"Two…"

_Let Andariel die_…

"Three…"

_Please, please,_ Moran whispered in the depths of her heart._ Let me return home_.

"FOUR! NOW!"'

Moran shoved her booted feet against the wood, and she could hear Nikan's part of the door splinter and break. The doors swung open to reveal a totally dark room with one beam of light falling on-

"Thorn! Ollan!" Nikan cried, running towards the other two who bounded together and on the floor.

"NO!" Moran lunged for the Amazon but it was too late. "NIKAN!"

Her scream ricocheted off the walls.

Moran clutched her forehead. _Three down, one to go_.

"Nikan! Nikan!" She gasped.

"_Die, maggot_!!"

It was Andariel.

She rose to a fearful height, flaming hair and all, twice as tall as Moran. The Demon Queen was naked, and every muscle bulged with an unnatural strength. Spider pincers shot out from her back, each of them sporting long, red claws.

_Don't attack first, _Moran told herself. _Let Andariel attack first_.

"Why, it's the little sorceress," Anadriel hissed. "_DIE!_"

Moran ducked the poison fumes just in time. Her hair slapped against her sweaty forehead and neck. She suddenly slipped on some of the blood from a recent victim and she fell, her body thudding painfully on the stone.

She looked up and saw Andariel grinning down at her.

The Queen swung with one of her hands.

The soup bowl Kail was holding suddenly slipped from his hands for no reason and hit the floor, shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.

"MORAN!" He suddenly shouted. He grabbed his wand, war sword, and dashed out to the Waypoint.

Moran felt herself flying through the air, but found it surprisingly painless. Somehow…Andariel didn't hit her with her full force. Something…a shield or something had come suddenly between her and Anadriel's pincers.

She landed in the blood basin along with the decapitated bodies, and someone else. 

Gagging, she tossed her staff up and grabbed a bobbing body besides her. With an effort of standing on a decapitated chest, she pulled herself up and the person.

It was a Corrupted Rogue.

"Wha-what did you do?" Moran asked.

The Rogue grinned at her. "Well, Andariel's not worth it for you to be killed. You deserve to live. I don't."

"Well…thanks," Moran said. The dying Rogue gave her one more bloody grin, and shut her eyes.

"Live peacefully in Heaven," Moran whispered.

Anger surged through her.

"DIE ANDARIEL!" She ran towards her.

Andariel suddenly stopped in her tracks. Red blood streaked with bright, neon green spurted from her lips. Fire burst from the ceiling and ground and smothered her.

"NOOOOO!" Andariel screamed. "AAAAAAHHHH!"

The ground shook violently and several pieces of stone came flying from the ceiling. Moran rolled underneath a chair and held her head under her protective arms.

The shaking stopped.

The fire died away.

Coughing violently, Moran crawled from the chair. A hand appeared in front of her.

"Kail!" She gasped, looking up and seeing the Necromancer grinning. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I can't resist it when it comes to killing Andariel," he grinned. "I don't want to be left out."

She took his hand and he helped her up. "Where are the others?"

"Oh my god…" she ran over to Nikan's limp body. Fear rang through her body as she shook the Amazon. "Nikan, Nikan!"

"I'm fine," Nikan moaned. 

"Damn!" Moran sat back, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought you died."

"So did I," Nikan coughed. "Hey, what's wrong? You're covered in blood."

"I fell in that basin thing out there," Moran shrugged and looked over to Kail who was untying Ollan and Thorn.

"Guys! You're alive!" Moran dashed up to Thorn and threw a bear hug around the Barbarian's shoulders, which was an easy task since he was half lying on the floor. "I thought you died too."

"Can't believe it," Thorn moaned. "I let those little Rat Mans get me and Ollan!"

"Rat Mans?" Kail raised an eyebrow.

Moran collapsed, laughing. "Behold, the big and brave Barbarian."

A few days later, everything settled into place. The rogues moved back into the Monastery, and the encampment was slowly turning back into part of the meadow. Moran thought she would probably die screaming if another Rogue had walked up to her and said a thank you along with a hug. The others agreed.

"I mean, my shoulders are so sore," she moaned.

Ollan laughed. "Maybe I should put up my thorn aura. Return the damage back to them."

"Hey, caravan's ready!" Warriv shouted. A horse's whinny rose high along with a snort from a camel. 

"Dibs on the wagon with the biggest mattress!" Thorn shouted.

"Stupid," Nikan rolled her eyes. "You ready Moran?"

"Yeah, one more thing," she swept past Kail and tossed him her bulging pack. "Hold these for me for a second will you?"

He caught it and staggered.

She ran up to Kashya. "Kashya?"

"Oh, hello," Kashya said.

"I, um, wanted to say this to you," Moran grinned. "Sorry for the slap."

Kashya's stern face broke into a true smile. "No problem, outlander. And thank you, for everything."

Surprised, she pulled Moran into a hug. "Thank you…friend."

Moran grinned into the red hair. "No problem."

"MORAN!" She heard Kail shout. "We have to go!"

"Bye," Moran pulled away and head out to the long caravan train. She pulled herself into the wagon they were all sharing. Warriv had loaded it with mattresses, fluffy pillows, and food of all sorts.

"On to Lut Gholein," Kail said as they pulled off, away to the East.


	7. Cats ATTACK!

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan. J

A small word: Thank you all for reading Time Blood, and all the support you've given me. Good writers need good reviewers, and every criticism and praise make me into a better writer. Cheers!

Chapter Six: Cats Attack

Moran woke up and instantly felt her body heat up. She groaned. She had felt perfectly cool during the long sleep. She shut her eyes and rolled, trying to get back to sleep. Instead, she became even more awake when she banged into Thorn's bulky foot in her stomach.

They had been traveling for a day and a night and now it was morning of the second day. She remembered being shaken awake by Nikan a few hours ago, probably at three o'clock in the morning from the tent they had been sharing and being shoved into the wagon. It was probably around six or seven.

Moran groaned again and touched her arms, slick with sweat. She opened her eyes and threw open the curtain shielding the light. Moans of protests came from the others.

"Shut the damn curtains!" Kail shouted from underneath a pillow while Thorn gave an angry _hrrraaaaaagggh_ and sharply kicked out, nearly catching Moran in the head.

"_Hey_, watch it!" Moran said. A breeze moved gently inside the wagon, cooling her off. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's so damn hot," Ollan said, rubbing his eyes. "Where are we?" 

Warriv suddenly came trotting up on his camel and bent down to speak to them. "We're approaching the deserts. We'll reach Lut Gholein at early light tommorow. Good thing we didn't run into any Saber Cats."

"Saber whats?" Moran rubbed her eyes again and yawned. "Any water in here?"

Kail, with his head still under the pillow, thrust an empty jug at her. 

Sighing, she took it and waited until she caught the pace of the moving wagon. Then she jumped off, lost her footing, and fell on one knee.

She brushed herself off and trotted to the provisions wagon. She heaved herself up and looked into one of the water barrels. It was nearly empty. She checked a few more barrels.

"Hey…" she shouted to one of Warriv's caravan boys on a donkey. "Where'd all the water go?"

"We're out?" He said, scratching his messy hair. He shrugged. "I'll go tell Master Warriv."

Moran bent down into one of the barrels and scooped up as much water as she could into the jug. She spit the water out, finding it to be scalding.

"Shit," she gasped, sticking out her tongue.

"Something wrong? Weird facial expression you've got there," Kail grinned at her as he swung up into the wagon. He kicked open one of the barrels and bent down. 

"No water," Moran said, handing him the half full jug. "I've managed to scoop the last of it in here. It's scalding."

Kail took it from her and slowly drank it. "Well, it's still water," he sat down next to her, sipping it as the sun beat down on both of them. 

"Man, it's so hot," Moran wiped off a speck of sweat hanging off her eyelashes. "How did we run out of water so fast?"

Kail shrugged. "Well, last night Thorn crushed one _accidentally_ while he was-ah-drunk."

"That couldn't be it, we have like ten barrels or so," Moran gestured. 

"Leak?"

"Maybe," Moran shrugged. 

Kail looked out to the distance, fingering one of his finger-less gloves. "You know-"

A panic expression suddenly came on his face. He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her off the moving wagon.

"WHAT THE-" She gasped as they rolled down. He fell, panting on top of her.

"What the freak!" She yelled. "What did you do that for?"

She threw out her fist at him and caught it. "What did I do that for?" He hissed at her. "Look for yourself!"

He rolled off her and pointed at one of the barrels. There was a spear sticking out of it.

She swallowed. "Oh…thanks. Sorry."

"Damn, it's a Spear Cat's," he said. "Tell the wagon to stop."

"Why?" Moran asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "We don't want to run into a pack of half humans, with as much skill with spears as Nikan do we?"

"Ah," Moran said, jerking the spear out of the barrel and handed it to Kail. "Be careful."

"Hey, I'm a Necromancer," he grinned and left. 

Moran ran back, yelling. "Warriv! STOP! TELL THE WAGONS TO STOP! SPEAR-WHATEVER ATTACK!" 

Warriv skidded his camel. "What?"

"Please, Kail just went after a Spear Cat," she said. "He reckons they might be planning an attack."

"STOP!" Warriv shouted to the first wagon. 

After the lead wagon stopped, wagons that followed also stopped with groaning creaks. 

"What happened?" Nikan said, her blonde hair askew over her face. "Why did we stop?"

"Kail thinks there might be a Spear Cat attack," Moran said. "One just threw a spear at the barrels. Oh, and we're out of water too, by the way."

"The Cats' work, no doubt," Kail came back, blood on his hands. He peeled off his leather gloves and rubbed them down on the sand. "I think they plan on leaking our water supply so we could stop and search for an oasis, then they could attack us."

"Smart," Nikan said. "So what should we do?"

"Get a move on," Kail said as he brushed the sand off, removing the blood in the process. He slipped them back on. "And go as fast as you can, Warriv. Can we make it to Lut Gholein tonight?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't want to travel a lot at night," Warriv stroke his chin. "Yes, we can make it too Lut Gholein if we don't stop at all, at about past midnight. But you know, the Cats have perfect night vision. We don't."

"You talk as if I don't possess the Inner Sight," Nikan said.

"You do, but not us," Kail said. "I have a better idea, we travel nonstop, until we could see Lut Gholein. Then we stop for the night. That way, if we have trouble, one of us can ride into Lut Gholein and call for help."

"Sounds good to me," Warriv said. "Let's go."

"Why don't some of us take the front, and some of us take the back? Extra caution," Nikan said.

"Thorn and Ollan can take the back," Kail said.

"Why the back?" Moran asked curious.

"Since they decide to wake up so late, they can trail behind us," Kail shrugged. "I don't know."

They traveled on, until the sun set low and the sky turned dark. Moran was dusty and tired from walking all day, and her knees ached. Finally, Kail shouted for the caravan to stop. 

"Tired?" He asked her.

"Yeah," she rubbed her legs. "I'm sore."

"Want to see Lut Gholein?" He asked her and smiled. "So we won't have to set up camp."

She grinned back. "Why not?"

He handed her a small dirk. "Just in case we come across something."

She followed him until they were standing on the edge of a cliff and he pointed down. She nearly gasped as she saw the city. It was beautiful, like a sparkling gem. From the golden dome of one of the largest buildings to the smallest light from a home, it still stunned her. Across, the sea shone and sparkled.

"Wow," she said, breathless. "All that's Lut Gholein?"

"Wish you could see it before all this happened," Kail said. "I use to come here a lot, when I was a great deal younger. I remembered, this city was where I first met…"

His voice trailed off and he walked over to a large boulder and sat down.

"What is it?" Moran followed him and sat down next to him. She suddenly shivered. The temperature was dropping a great deal now that the sun was down. A few stars shimmered in the distant.

"Nothing, I don't want to talk about it," he sighed and leaned back on his elbows. He pointed to a group of stars. "That's the Golem constellation."

"Really? We don't have that in my…world," Moran said, following Kail's finger and ending up looking at a jumble of stars. It took her awhile until she made out a bulky form that looked like one of Kail's golem. A shooting star whizzed across the head.

"I wish we get to Lut Gholein safely," Kail mumbled. 

"I wish that too," Moran said. "And I wish our butt doesn't get kick when we return to camp."

Kail laughed softly. "They won't mind if we help clean up tomorrow." He pointed to another cluster. "Hey look there, that's the Sorceress. Named after you."

Moran squinted. "Looks more like a dog holding a stick."

"No, look closer. There's the head-" He pointed. "The legs."

"Ah," Moran said. 

Silence followed and she took a deep sigh. She turned to say something to Kail when she noticed a big, fat tear rolled out of his eye. He sniffed and quickly wiped it away.

"Look, it doesn't make me feel exactly comfortable to see you sit there and cry for no reason," Moran said.

"You noticed?" He sighed. "It's just that…sometimes I miss Moranah so much. But she's so close though."

Moran looked away. She suddenly felt like she was about to throw up. "Sorry," she whispered. Her hand slightly brushed his as she moved to a better position. She considered for a very long moment-

She took his large hand into hers.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his ear.

He gently squeezed her hand. "Don't be."

"Come on, let's get back to camp," she said. He stood up, still holding her hand as they walked back.

"Shh!" Kail suddenly said. "Come here."

He dragged her behind a large boulder. "Something's wrong. Camp's too quiet."

Moran listened. She remembered it being so loud the last time. People playing music, laughing, Thorn's roars as he tried to out drink one of Warriv's work boys. She gripped her dirk tightly. Kail was right. It was too quiet.

"Be quiet," Kail whispered. He waved his hand upwards. 

A golem rose from the dirt, near the center fire of the camp.

A volley of spears came pelting on it, crumbling it back to dirt.

"Spear Cats!" Kail angrily said. "I knew it!"

Moran wrapped her arms around her body. "What should we do?"

"One of us can't leave…" Kail looked thoughtful. "Wait here."

"Kail!" She hissed as he bolted from their hiding place and dashed off. 

After a few very tense minutes, he came back leading a large, appaloosa gelding. The horse snorted and Moran felt every nerve on her body tingle with fear.

"Can you ride?" He asked.

"Yeah, I took lessons before," she whispered back.

"All right, here's the deal," Kail said. "You ride as fast as you to Lut Gholein. Don't start galloping here, it'll alert the Cats. Trot until you come to the foot of the cliff, then ride fast. Once you reach the city, ask for help."

"Will they help me?" She took the reins.

"Say you're one of the Five," Kail said.

Moran started to stick her foot in the stirrup when she turned to the Necromancer. "Kail?"

"What?"

"Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan-why didn't they fight?" Moran asked. "And how do we know if they're alive?"

"I don't know, Moran," he said. "But we won't find out if you don't go."

"Will you be alright?"

"Just go!"

She swung up and squeezed her legs. The horse moved into a walk and into a fast trot. Chewing her lip, she loosened the reins and the gelding broke into a fast canter. She urged the horse on until it shot out into a gallop.

"Please, please, let them be alive," she prayed every time the horse lengthens its neck. Before she knew it, she was approaching the stone gates of Lut Gholein.

She stopped the horse and dismounted, running to the gates. "Open up! Please!" She shouted, banging her fists on the heavy wood. "Please! I need help!"

"Damn!" She swore and kicked the door. "Help! I'm-I'm one of the Five!"

The door swung open, nearly knocking her back if she didn't jump away in time. Two guards holding large spears pointed them at her. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Please! I'm a Sorceress, one of the Five traveling here with Warriv's caravan!" She said. "A band of Cats just took over our caravan and everyone's trapped!"

"How can we trust you?" The guard closest to her asked, shoving his spear lightly against her stomach. "What are you? You don't look like a sorceress."

"JUST GET HELP WILL YOU!" She shouted, and fire burst from the ends of her fingers with her temper. 

The guards backed away. "Look, we'll get Greiz, all right? Calm down!"

Panting, she watched them run into the darkened city. Moran sat back down on the sand, leaning against the wall. She gripped her forehead. _Hurry up, she prayed. Hurry up…_

A pair of legs wearing white trousers and a lantern swung in front of her. "Moranah!"

"What?" Moran looked up to see a red hair women looking down at her. "I'm Moran."

The woman lowered her head. "Yes…yes, I suppose. I'm Farah, the blacksmith here. I heard some commotion out here. Anything-"

"Are you helpful?" Moran bolted to her feet, yelling at the top of her lungs. "LOOK!THE CATS HAVE TAKEN ALL MY FRIENDS AND THE REST OF WARRIV'S CARAVANS! ARE YOU GOING TO HELP OR NOT!"

Fara looked stunned for a second, but before she would say anything, a large, muscular man in chain mail walked up to her along with a dozen warriors. "What's all this trouble," he looked at Moran, eyeing her up and down.

"Warriv's caravan! The Cats took them! Spear or Saber-both!" Moran shouted. "Are you going to help or not?"

"Where are they?" 

"At the top of that cliff," Moran pointed. 

The man looked at the guard following him. "Go wake all of them up. What kind of Cats are they?"

"Most of them are Spears," Moran said coolly. "You know, they throw little sticks with metal at the ends at you."

The guard appeared a few minutes later, about two-dozen of them, rubbing eyes and yawning. 

"Okay, men," the man wearing the chain mail said. "Spear Cats. Lots of them. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

Moran stared unbelievably at the man. "What? That's it? No strategy, no-"

"Look, I've been doing this job before your mother reached puberty you hear?" The man pointed a finger at her. "I can do this."

Moran hissed angrily at him. She mounted on her horse. "I'll show you where they are."

She trotted, the guards walking after her. She noticed that the Fara woman had caught up with her, riding on a mare, holding a jagged kris that glowed with a dull green.

"Why does it have that weird glow?" She asked as they approached the cliff. 

"Poisonous," Fara said. "One pierce, and if you don't die right away, the poison will eventually kill you."

"Stop!" Moran said. "The Cats are up there. Wait here, I'll go get Kail-"

She trotted up the cliff, panting along with her horse. Coming down was a lot easier. She slid off when she got to the top and ran as fast as she could to where she and Kail were hiding earlier.

"Kail?" She whispered. There was no sign of him. Bending down, she cautiously crept up to the camp. She noticed a couple of silhouettes that probably belonged to Cats. She could almost feel her heart tearing its way out of her chest as she sneaked behind two Spear Cats standing guard, holding spears that were almost twice as tall as their own body. 

She didn't see Kail anywhere.

A hand swept over her mouth and her waist, pulling her back behind into shadows created by cacti. The figure let go of her and pulled off the hood of it's cloak.

"Kail!" She gasped after she collected her senses after the pure terror that pulled at her heart. "Damn it! Why did you creep up on me like that?"

"Well, what if I tapped you on the shoulder and you screamed?" He raised a pale eyebrow. "Or jumped in front of you and alerted the Cats?"

"Sorry," she said.

"Are they here?"

"Yeah, down at the cliff," she said. "Got something planned?"

"Yes; come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her very fast down the cliff. She noticed how his eyes light up when he saw Fara.

"Fara," he said, shaking the woman's hand.

"Good to see you again, Kail," Fara said. 

He nodded. "All right, people, here's the deal," He said, and Moran was actually impressed by the way his tone of voice took authority. The men crowded around him. "First we have to pull every single Cat out," he said. "What can be trememdously dangerous is to have Spear Cats or another one of those weapon-throwing ones well hidden, where they can attack us without being seen. Moran, can you summon a Meteor?"

"A what?" Moran said. "I don't know how."

"Fine then, a Blizzard?"

"Yeah, I can do that," she said.

"When the Cats come out, attack them," Kail said. "If you see anyone tied up, especially an Amazon, Paladin, or a Barbarian, release them. We need all the help we can get. Attack when I say so. Greiz?"

The man wearing the chain mail looked up. "What, Necromancer?"

"Don't do anything until I say so," Kail said, his voice cool. 

They crept up the hill and Moran wished that if they got out of this alive, she could soak her feet into a tub of hot water. A guard helped her up the last couple of feet and she thanked him.

"Moran, over there," Kail pointed to a bare space next to the camp. "Shoot."

She felt her hands automatically flung up to the heavens. A burst of chill rang through her body. A sound erupted across the sky that sounded like a thousand whales sprouting water.

Sharp, razor spikes of ice and fumes of chilling vapor came cascading down. Almost right after the first spike hit the sand, Cats came appearing everywhere. Some held spears, most of them had whips, and a few had on belts filled with potions, most of them probably Oil and Poison.

"Good work, Moran," Kail said.

"Damn, that's a lot of them," Moran whispered as the Cats pointed and jabbered excitedly at the ice. 

"Take the ones with potions and spears down first," Kail said. "You all ready? All right, Moran. You'll do fine with that dirk?"

"Hey, I'm a sorceress," she grinned.

"All right-NOW!"

The all leapt from their hiding places, except for some of the guards that had spears. Moran cast another Blizzard that slowed down several with the throwing weapons. The guards took them down quickly.

Running, Moran sliced two Cats open in the stomach, without thinking. She was looking for the others, for any sign of them. She started running towards the heart of the camp when she noticed the large wagon Warriv where Warriv kept animal skins and cloth for trade had a large padlock on it, which she was sure it wasn't there before. She ran away from the battle and the disgusting sounds of Kail's Corspe Explosion spells towards the wagon.

"Thorn? Nikan? Ollan?" She said, and knocked on the door.

Soft moans came from inside.

"Oh damn," she raised her hands up to perform her Inferno. "Lie low or duck! I'm going to bust the door open!"

"Not so fast!"

Moran cried out in pain as something swished through the dark, and sliced open the front of her jerkin. For a moment, she feared that it was sword, but instead of feeling raw-opened, all she felt was burning pain.

A Cat stepped from the shadows, holding a large, cruel looking whip. She hissed and Moran saw her fangs glitter in the moonlight. Dark, maroon colored hair swung down in large waves, contrasting with the tanned yellow of her fur-covered skin. All she wore was a breastplate and a pair of short, leather pants.

Moran wasted to time and blew out a jet of Inferno. The Cat laughed and stepped into the jet of flames. 

_This can't be!_ Moran gritted her teeth.

"Ever heard of Auras, Sorceress?" The Cat said. "Paladins aren't the only one who have them."

She raised her whip and Moran dodged, but the tip of it grazed her shoulder and she winced as she felt more fresh blood join in with the blood down her front. She went up, and this time, shot out an ice bolt.

The Cat slowed down from the cold, but recovered quickly, just in time for Moran too pick up a discarded Poison potion and dodge another swish of the whip. She came up again, holding the dirk in one hand and the potion in another. The Cat laughed.

"Fool," she hissed. "Surrender now, and maybe I'll let you go alive."

Surrender? For what? Moran prayed and threw the potion as hard as she could against a boulder. Poison vapors rose in the air.

"What are you doing?" The Cat asked.

Before the Cat could do anything else, Moran dodged and swept up the broken glass along with some sand that were wet from the poison. She threw it at the Cat's face.

"Ah!" She screamed, clawing at her eyes.

Moran shoved the dirk as hard as she could through the throat the moment the Cat dropped her whip to rub at her damaged eyes. Blood squirted out and splash across her shirt as the lifeless body of the beast thumped against the sand.

Panting, Moran ran up to the door and set a bolt of ice against the padlock. After it was frozen, she picked up a rock and smashed it to pieces. She flung the door open and gasped as a large body came tumbling down.

"Thorn!" She gasped and a moan came from her mouth as she looked at him. There were numerous whip slashes all over his arms, neck, chest, and one across his nose. But they were so much deeper than hers-so deep that she could almost see some of the red sinewy muscle protruding from the weeping wounds. She gasped and shook him.

"Thorn! Oh, please don't die!" She cried, slapping him on the face. "Come on!"

"Shut up, I'm fine!" Thorn moaned. "Oh damn the damned!"

"Thorn!" Moran gasped. "Do you need anything?"

"WHEN I get to Lut Gholein!" Thorn said. "I AM going to have four HUMONGOUS mugs of STRONG ale and drink and drink-"

"Thorn! Snap out of it!" Moran slapped his face and he opened his eyes.

"Wha?" He asked. "What happened?"

She groaned. "Get back in the wagon."

After helping him in and checking on Ollan and Nikan (minor injuries), she headed back to heart of the camp where the battle was done.

"Moran!" Kail gasped as he saw her. "What the-all that blood?"

"A Cat," Moran said. "I found the others. They're okay but Thorn-he looks really bad. His whip cuts are really deep and he's bleeding loads."

"All right," A look of anxiety crossed his face. "I'll go tell the others to get a move on."

"What about Warriv and his boys?" Moran asked.

"Warriv broke his wrist, no big deal," Kail said. "One of the boys are dead-broke his neck trying to escape the cats. He fell off the cliff on a pile of rocks."

Moran winced. "Terrible creatures, aren't they?"

The rest of the hour passed by a blur as Moran rode in the wagon with the others who were injured. She dozed off until she felt someone shaking her, and after failing to get her to wake up, she felt herself being carried and dumped into some sort of soft surface. She felt her clothes being removed and panicking, she jerked open her eyes.

"It's all right, it's just me," Fara said. "Sleep on. I'm going to clean your cuts."

Gratefully, she shut her tired eyes.

_ _


	8. Of Pain and Jealousy

Kail opened his eyes and blinked against the sudden glare

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan.

Oh, and so might as well know, you might have noticed that all the characters already have skills such as the Amazon with the Plague Spear, the Barbarian with the Howl and so on, is because the story takes place in Hell Mode. Thank you. 

Oh, and I was thinking about doing an "interview with the Diablo Characters". What do you think? Should I do it, or should I not? Art of the characters in different poses will soon be online for your viewing pleasure. I'll drop the URL down sometimes. Now go read! Shoo…

Chapter Eight: Of Pain and Jealousy

Kail opened his eyes and blinked against the sudden glare. He had waked up late-in fact, very late. The sun was already high up in the sky. But he knew he had worked himself down to the bone last night.

After they arrived at the city, he made sure that the injured got rooms for the night at Elzix's, and Fara and Lysander where taking care of their wounds. After he made sure that Thorn had stopped bleeding, he went to take over unloading the caravan in place of Warriv who had a broken wrist and a bad case of the nerves. His voice had turned hoarse and crackly as he shouted orders. He remembered finishing when he saw a few red streaks that showed dawn was approaching and he was ready to drop. He didn't remember at all who got him to bed.

He walked to the small balcony and pulled the curtain shut, then rolled onto bed again. He looked around to see if there was water anywhere, but he saw nothing. He groaned and shut his eyes.

"Room service!"

"What?" He groaned. 

"It's me," he heard Moran said.

"Hold on," he pulled on a pair of black pants and laced the thongs. He hunted underneath the covers for the cream shirt.

"Hey, what's taking you? The tray's heavy!"

"Hold on-what?" He stopped as he found the shirt underneath a pillow. "You brought me food?"

"I brought everyone food," he heard her say as he shrugged into the wrinkled shirt. "At least your tray wasn't as heavy as Thorn. I got him four mugs of ale, as the majesty wished before he was brought here."

"Four mugs-" Kail shook his head and opened the door. Moran looked at his head.

"Bed hair suits you, did you know that?" she said.

He laughed and ran a hand through it. "Come in."

She walked in with the tray, overflowing with food and plunked it down on his bed. "How's Thorn?" He asked her as he sat next to it and looked down at the steaming mug, smelling of sugar and spices.

"He's better, that's why he demands his ale," Moran laughed and sat cross-legged on the head of the bed, hugging a large pillow to his chest. "That's Barbarian's amazing. If I had wounds as bad as that, I would've been out for nearly a week."

Kail drank the herb tea and felt his body loosened up the tension. He sighed and stretched his leg. "I think we should take the day off."

Moran raised a dark eyebrow. "You mean, we don't fight for a day?"

"And I'll take you around Lut Gholein," he lifted a piece of roasted ham with pineapple sauce into his mouth and moaned at the taste. "Nikan, Ollan, and definitely Thorn are too weak to be up and about. What about it?"

"Why not?" Moran said. "Sounds good."

"Okay, then give me half and hour," he stuffed the last piece of ham into his mouth. "Meet me downstairs."

"All right," Moran slid off his bed and looked at him. "Are you really feeling up to it?"

"Of course I am!" He said, muffled because of the lentil bread in his mouth. She grinned and left the room. 

After the half an hour, he managed to finish the rest of his breakfast, had a quick wash behind Elzix's inn, and got dressed. He was running his hands through his hair as he walked over to Moran, who was sitting down on a stool and talking to Elzix.

"You are the vainest Necromancer I have ever met," Moran caught him brushing his hair with his fingers.

"The _only_ Necromancer you've met," he grinned then he looked at Moran. "Wow, you look nice."

She had changed into what might have been "Lut Gholein" style of clothes. Her hair was let down to her waist and a golden circlet contrasted like a wonder to the dark shade. A long, black skirt slit at the sides that nearly reached up to her thighs and a greenish black shirt made from oilcloth that left her stomach and arms bare that was adorned also, with gold. But she wore a pair of worn heavy boots on her feet. 

"Who managed to dress you like that?" He asked.

She stood up and posed, but then failed to laughter. "My set of normal clothes were torn by the Saber Cat yesterday, so Atma got me this for the while. It's not as easy to move as pants but what do you think?"

"Beautiful," he said. She grinned.

"Well, now Lysander will have something to feast his eyes on since all them Harem girls never come out anymore," Elzix said. "Wait till Jerhyn meets you." He winked.

Kail laughed. "Come on, Moran. Let's leave the old man to his fantasies."

He led her to the heart of Lut Gholein, where Lysander and Fara had their shops. He paused at the old alchemist's shop and knocked on the shut door. "Lysander…"

"Wha! Oh, it's you, Kail!" A window opened and the man poked his head out. 

"He remembers you?" Moran asked in a hush voice. "From…you know. Before."

"No, we've met before, long before Diablo came into this world," Kail said, grinning. "Hey, old man!"

"Hello-" Lysander stopped when he saw Moran. "Well, Kail, you better introduce me to this lovely lady. Don't tell me you went inside the palace and dragged out one of them Harem ladies!"

"No, this is Moran, the Sorceress of our team," Kail grinned. "Moran, Lysander."

"Hey," Moran said, shaking the old Alchemist's hand. "Nice shop you got here."  
"What? Hops?" Lysander asked.

"I said SHOP!"

"Ah," Lysander said. "Shared a many good explosion and fumes of poison," there was a hint of proud in his voice.

"Is Jerhyn around?" Kail asked.

"Jerhyn? Jerhyn isn't round, he's actually quite well built," Lysander said, scratching an armpit with the bottle on his left arm.

"I said is he AROUND!" Kail nearly doubled up with silent laughter. 

"Oh. I heard he's planning a grand party as a celebration of the Five," Lysander said. "I heard, tonight, at Atma's."

Kail raised an eyebrow. This had not happened last time. "Why would he plan a party for us?"

"It seems like one of you defeated the leader of the Cats that were in threat of toasting Lut Gholein last night when they took over your camp," Lysander said. "Her name's Lashan, and she's a Saber Cat."

"We didn't kill any unique Cats last night," Kail said. "What does she look like?"

"Just like any Saber Cat. 'Cept she's got yellow skin and maroon hair."

"Wait!" Moran said. "I killed one that-that looked like that. She gave me this wound. It'll probably end up being a scar," Moran pulled a bit of her neckline down. He winced at the scab. He knew it'd leave a horrible scar for the rest of her life.

"Jerhyn will be happy to know that!" Lysander's eyebrows rose. "That's amazing, ah-"

"Moran," Moran said. "Thank you, Lysander."

"Come on, let's go to Atma's," Kail took her hand. "Thanks for everything Lysander. See you tonight?"

"No, I don't have a Sword of Blight!" Lysander called. "Go ask Fara or Elzix."

Moran laughed. "Poor guy. Is he deaf?"

"Almost," Kail shook his head as they walked along the dusty grounds. Lut Gholein certainly looked very normal for a city during the Rise of the Prime Evils. Except for Grez's guards patrolling and guarding every corner, it looked like a normal, fair place to live. Women dressed in colorful silks walked along the streets, some plump ones dragging children. Tall, turbaned men looked as Moran as they walked. Kail was glad that he was still holding on to her hand. 

Infact…he looked at her. She wasn't Moran. She had Moran's face and body, but her personality-he hated to admit it but he was starting to forget Moranah, and look onto this strange girl from a strange place. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Moran asked him. 

He touched his eyebrow ring gently. "Nothing. It's just the heat." He pushed open the strings of beads that acted as a curtain and walked into Atma's public house. He spotted Geglash sitting on a table, arm wrestling with-

"Thorn!" Moran cried. "Dang it, you're suppose to be in bed!"

"What?" Thorn looked up and Geglash forced his wrist down.

"AH!" Thorn screamed. "MORAN!"

"Sorry," Moran shrugged. "You feel better?"

"Better than ever!" Thorn flexed an arm.

"THORN!" Kail yelled. "Don't do that! It can rip apart the stitches!"

"Yes, mother hen," Thorn said. "Look, I've got more scars than counted for. You know that, Kail."

"What about me?" Kail pulled open his vest at Thorn. "Look. And I know not to flex muscles when I've got stitches holding muscle together!"

"Just leave him," Moran steered him to the other end of the table. "Who's that wrestling with him?"

"Geglash," Kail grinned. "Nikan's really fond of him. She and Thorn get along best with him. He's a drunkard, but friendly when you get to know him."

"Hello, again Kail." Atma said, walking up to them.

"You remember?" Kail whispered to Atma.

"One of the unlucky few," her jaw flexed. "It's hard, to go through all that again and still not being able to save my husband."

Moran looked away.

"Your son?" Kail asked.

"I managed to save him this time," Atma said. "He's upstairs right now, having his midday sleep. You'll see him."

Kail sighed. At least Atma managed to save her son, but he could tell she was angry about the death her husband. 

"You two want anything to drink?" She asked. "If you want to drink, you better now. Jerhyn will be in soon, getting the party ready."

"Ale?" He asked Moran.

"Are you kidding? Water please," she said. 

"Cold ale, not strong," he said. "Thank you, Atma."

The woman nodded and walked away. 

"Her son's really cute," Moran grinned. "Wait till you meet him."

They watched Thorn beat Geglash a couple more times until Moran asked him, "Hey, what's with the eyebrow rings and such?"

"What? You don't like it?" He fingered it.

She laughed. "No, it suits you. But is it like, a thing for necromancer to wear?"

He shook his head. "No. Actually…I don't even remember why I got it. I was about eight or nine."

"You have any more piercing anywhere else?"

He lifted up the shirt and her eyes widened. "You pierced your _nipples_?"

He grinned when Thorn came and plunked next to him. "I'll tell you why he got his nipple pierced," Thorn said. "For the lack of women in his life, nipple rings tend to give him sexual spasms in the middle of the night so he could be content-"

Kail grabbed Thorn's arm, and with a clever wrestler's trick, he had the Barbarian on the floor. He brushed his hands on his pants and calmly sat back on the bench. "What were you saying, Moran?"

She laughed. "Do they really give you sexual feelings?"

"NO!" He roared as Thorn laughed, still on the floor. 

"Do you know why I never get piercing? I always have girls trailing behind me wherever I go!" Thorn swung up. "Charsi, Natalya, that girl over there-"

"Yeah, and how many of them run away when you pull them on the bed-thankyou Atma," Kail took his tea and Moran her water. 

Thorn gave a mighty roar and swung his hand as if to give Kail a really hard slap on the back. Kail leapt on the table just in time and rolled off the other end, scaring away a few women who were drinking on a table nearby. 

"Kail!" Moran said, who was still laughing. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down. "Will you two just quit it?"

Thorn glanced at her hand, back at Kail and couldn't stop grinning.

Only one phrase: Jehryn couldn't have done a better job for a party in his palace.

Kail leaned back, sipping his drink. The Lord of Lut Gholein had planned a party fit enough for the entire of Lut Gholein. The people didn't have much to celebrate over the year, and they looked happy for a chance to be happy.

A throng of musicians playing chimes, stringed instruments, and a singer stood to one end of the room (which was cleared free of any benches and swept so clean there wasn't a drop of ale or spit on the floor) while people were dancing at the other end. Nikan had recovered enough to come and wear a matching dress to Moran, except hers was red. Kail grinned, remembering how she had complained about wearing a skirt, but paused at any reflective surface to see her reflection. 

"Hey, Kail! What are you doing here all alone?" Moran said, flopping down on a cushion next to him, red in the face from dancing. "Man, all this place needs is a disco ball."

He looked at her. "A what?"

"Nothing," she grinned, jumped up and grabbed his drink, throwing it out the window.

"Hey!"

"Come on, Kail," she grabbed his hands and pulled him out to the middle of the dance floor. He grinned. 

"Let's see how well the necromancer dances," she whispered, her eyes twinkling.

"Ah, wait till you-"

"Excuse me?"

Kail whirled around to face Jerhyn. "What?"

"Excuse me, but could I speak to you in private?" Jerhyn asked Moran who looked at Kail and shrugged.

"Go ahead," he mumbled. Moran looked at him again before Jehryn pulled her into Atma's kitchen.

He uttered a curse and sat back on the chair. He was joined a second later by Ollan, sporting a heavy bandage that covered his forehead and one eye. "What's wrong, Kail?"

"What would you care?" He scraped his chair back so fast that it toppled on the floor. "I'm leaving."

He could feel Ollan's stare bore into his backbone as he walked out of public house. He ran up to his room in Elzix's inn, scaring off a couple kissing as he kicked an empty barrel to pieces that was in his way.

He tore into his room, strapped his bone shield onto his right arm, sheathed his war sword and strapped his wand into his belt. He was too angry. He needed to kill.

He swept pass towards the dock, pass Meshif's ship, and down to the entrance of the sewers where two of Greiz's guards stood guarding with cruel looking spears. They crossed them in front of Kail when he tried to enter.

"You dare stop me?" He hissed. "I'm one of the Five!"

"We can't let anyone in at night! One of the Five or not," one of them said.

He ripped his wand out and in a flash, had one of the guards underneath him, with the glowing wand underneath his chin. "Let. Me. In."

He rolled off the guard who was now staring daggers at him. "As you wish…_Necromancer_. But Jehryn won't like it if you bring the whole of Radament's army in here."

"Shut up," he hissed, shouldering the guard as he went inside. A pungent smell filled his nostrils as he went in, and dampness made it's way into his flesh. He walked as silently as he could, waiting for something to come at him.

Strange, he couldn't help thinking through his anger, that there wasn't a trace of any creature that lurked in the sewers. There were only rats, and the most he could do was step on them. Then he heard a strange voice…then a screech…

He bent down low and peeked behind a barrel. There was Radament.

Not only him, but a throng of burning skeletons, skeleton archers, and mummies. Radament threw his head back and swung one scythed arm out at a skeleton.

"NO!" He bellowed. "I DON'T CARE THAT THE FIVE ARE HERE! WE WILL ATTACK LUT GHOLEIN TONIGHT DO YOU HEAR ME!"

A Greater Mummy stood up. "Radament, that the Five are here could create problems. They can wipe out hundreds of us faster than you can ressurect us."

"I don't care!" Radament shouted. "Look at them, all having a grand and glorious party. Hell, they would not even _know_ we're up there until we're feet away from them!"

"So you say we attack right away," another Greater Mummy said.

"When Lashan and her band of Cats get here," Radament said. "By the name of Tal Rasha, _where_ is she?! Once she arrives, we will attack right away!"

Kail felt fear creep up his insides. He had to go back-and fast."

He backed away.

The sound cracking bone rang through the silent halls.

Sweat poured down his face and he looked at the rat's skull he stepped on.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Radament yelled.

"No," Kail whispered in his head. "Please…"

"Look! It's a Huntress!"

Kail saw a sweeping shadow swept pass him he saw a Huntress run up to Radament. "Radament!" She cried.

"What is it, Shotun the Sharp?"

"I just received word. Lashan had died. One of the Five had killed her."

An uproar sounded in Radament's hall making more enough noise that sounded as if an entire city would collapsed on Kail's head. He took that moment to run away. 

He came up panting. "Get Greiz he said to the two guards. Radament's planning an attack!"

The guards asked no more and ran off. 

Kail dashed into the public house. "STOP!" He shouted.

"Kail!" Moran dashed up to him. "Where were you? What's with the shield?"

He shook his head. "STOP!"

The music stopped and everybody turned to face him.

"Radament! He's planning to come in the city tonight!"

He saw Atma amidst the sea faces, and saw her slowly sank to the ground on her knees. He wiped a drop of sweat off his forehead.

"Kail…" Cain stepped up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You must stop him…and get the Horadric scroll!"

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Moran shouted. "Come on guys."

"Just to be safe why don't we load the townsfolk into Meshif's ship?" Ollan said. "In case Radament succeeds coming up here?"

The thought was terrorizing, but Kail nodded. "All right-"

"There's an island not far from here, my people can stay there," Jehryn said. Kail nodded.

"All right people," he said. "Jehryn, you take care of everything down here. We should gear up."

People began parting ways and Kail dashed up to Elzix's inn, followed close by Moran, Ollan, and Thorn. "You go ahead," he turned. "I have to go see Drognan."

He ran to the wizard's old store and rapped on the door. "Drognan!" 

"What is it Necromancer?" The wizened wizard poked his head out the window.

"You have to evacuate, now," Kail shouted up. "Radament-he's going to come up to the city!"

The window slammed shut, and a minute later he opened the door, holding a sack full of things. "Thank you for telling me, Necromancer."

"My name's Kail."

"Thank you, Necromancer," Drognan walked away.

With a sigh, he sprinted back to the inn and Thorn tossed him his armor, chain boots, and gloves. "Here," he grunted.

"Shouldn't we seal all the ways out from the sewers?" Nikan asked, still tying the leathers of her breastplate together. "Just in case…you know…we-"

"Die?" Thorn said cheerfully.

"I can use one of my armor charms," Moran said. "It'll freeze whatever tries to get through." 

"And I have my bone walls," Kail nodded, and kicked at the field plate. "No-no, don't look at me like that. I don't have time to put it on, Ollan. We have to go now."

They ran to the first sewer opening and Moran cast her Shiver Armor over it, and Kail did his Bone Wall. After making sure four of Greiz's guards are guarding it, they went to the other end where Meshif's ships were.

"You about ready?" Kail panted, massaging his side as he asked Jehryn.

"Almost-watch out there," he helped an old woman into the rocking ship. "You seen Fara?"

"I'm here," Fara said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay to guard."

"But what if something happens at the island?" Kail gestured with his head to the ship. "Those people will need you."

"No they won't. They have Greiz going with them."

"Greiz-" He spit angrily on the ground. "The bastard. Saving his own behind and letting his guards risk their lives."

Nikan shook her head. "Come on. Hood luck Jehryn."

"Good luck," Jehryn said and stepped into his ship.

They watched the ships leave, and at last, there was nothing but empty Lut Gholein…and themselves.

"This is going to be creepy," Moran said.

"Wait till you see Radament," Thorn mumbled. "Ready?"

They walked through the darkened streets and headed down to the sewers. The six guards removed their spears and they walked in. Moran cast her charm and Kail set his wall of bones and Moran watched as if she was seeing a Saber Cat sprouting from one of Lysander's potion bottles.

"Wow, that's funky," she said, and touched one of the bones. "_Cool_."

"Come on," Thorn said gruffly as his chain boots landed in a pool of sludgy water. Kail winced and said _shhhh_ at the same time everybody else did.

"Dammit it, Thorn," Nikan hissed and grabbed the back of his armor, and with amazing strength of an Amazon, shook him angrily. "Can't be a _little_ more quiet? You're going to wake the entire of Radament's army."

"I didn't know they slept," Thorn sulked a bit and Kail bit his lip from laughing.

"Come on," he said, walking as fast as he could without making big splashes in the water. "Radament's army might be on the move already. Will you cut that out-THORN! Stop that!"

The Barbarian had kicked a pile of rat skulls and pulled out a moldy key. "Sorry," he tossed into his pants.

After they got close to Radament's base, Kail made them all crouch down behind barrels. "I don't-" He looked hard, squinting in the darkness. "That's too strange…Radament should be there…"

"Maybe they already went?" Moran said from his elbow somewhere.

"Can't be," Ollan whispered back, from Kail's knees. "We should have seen them."

Nikan was about to say something when a thousand terrified squeaks from rodents came from behind them. Kail whipped out his war sword and turned around. He felt his mouth drop open as a thousand rats-maybe more came swarming towards them, crying out in shrill cries.

"What's going on?" Moran asked.

"Oh my-"

A throng of Radament's army came from the shadows. Mummies, Burning Deads, Greater Mummies, and almost everything undead came advancing on them. 

"What do we do? Come on, strategy," Thorn said.

"Maybe yell, "your mother has clean white bones" at them?" Moran suggested. "Damn. Look, I can freeze most of them. Then you can Whirlwind through…Nikan poison javelin? Ollan, you can do your holy bolts. Kail…a good and messy corpse explosion will do a world of good."

"Yum, yum," Thorn said.

"Ready-damn!" Kail cried as he dodged, avoiding a spear. But it skidded across Ollan's armor, making a dent on the shiny metal.

"_Spear cats_?" Ollan roared angrily.

"NOW!"

Moran released bolt after bolt, and after bolt of freezing ice bolts that stopped the enemy in place, but it wasn't enough. He could see she was getting tired-low on mana. Nikan released off poison javelins, lightning javelins, and normal javelins. He too, was doing his part with the corpse explosion but he felt extremely tired…not a good idea.

"You two can go now!" He shouted for Ollan and Thorn.

Thorn went, screaming madly as he hurled through the creatures with his Whirlwind. Ollan, preferring a much more quieter act of fighting, ran and hacked off heads with his sword and burning the frozen chunks of creature ice to death with his Holy Fire aura.

"Oh damn! Thorn, get back!!" Kail shouted. "Moran!"

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" She yelled back, but Kail knew she wasn't. An exploding spear had skidded across her arm before turning into a miniature bomb a few yards behind them. Later, knowing by experience, they would have to spend hours fishing out remains of the metallic spearhead in her arm.

He sent his golems and skeletons to distract a portion of the army before running into the darkness. Radament had to be around…

An unhealthy laughter filled the sewers.

He threw himself back before the poison fumes could reach him. He roared angrily. "Radament!"

"Who else?" Radament hissed.

"Oh, good," Kail sneered. "I didn't know you spoke a human language. Being the animal that you are."

He ducked the bladed hand and swung his sword against the rotting legs of the monster. He heard a bone snap.

The blade hissed against his back as he crawled from Radament's damaged legs. He blocked a heavy blow with his shield and felt his bones rattle from the impact. 

_Come on Kail,_ he reassured himself. _Radament's just a_-

He rolled and quickly came to his feet as he saw something green throbbing underneath Radament's chest. Strange, he never noticed it before. But there was only once possibility what it might be.

_Radament's heart_.

He threw his wand as if it was a javelin at the glowing, green heart that poison ran as Radement's lifeblood.

Radement stopped in his tracks.

"You can't do this to me…" the monster whispered before falling down on the sewers. Dead.

It was only a matter of moments before he heard the others come running. He was fishing into Radament's body to pull out his wand.

"Damn, you didn't let me kill him!" Thorn danced towards the chest and kicked it open, pulling out the Horadric Scroll.

"Where's Moran?" Kail asked.

"Um," Nikan said. "Let's go."

Fear rang through him as they hurried back. His stomach wrenched as he saw Moran slumped against the wall. She was breathing, but heavily. 

"Moran!" He ran towards her.

"No! Kail, don't touch her!" Ollan shouted.

He grabbed both her arms and she screamed. "Kail! No! Let go of me!"

Surprised, he took his hands away as Moran sobbed. "Hurts…hurts…"

"Moran! What's wrong?" He looked at Nikan.

"Her right arm," Nikan said. "It looks like an explosive spear hit her. You know what it does…it skidded against her arm, and now we'll have to remove the metallic dust."

Kail looked at her right arm and winced at the wound. It had turned black from burning, and was red around the edges. It was as big as his palm. Several pieces of metallic dust glittered in the torn flesh. Moran was still sobbing.

"We have to remove them right away, or it'll become infected," Nikan said. "Or the damage spreads."

Thorn shook his head. "It ain't gonna be easy…"

"Shut up," Kail took her left arm. "Moran? Try not to move your right arm so much."

He pulled her up and she screamed. "Ow! Ow!"

"Don't move your arm!" He said.

"I'm-not!" She sobbed painfully into his shoulder as she leaned on him. "Just it-moving a little…ow!"

He winced every time she shrieked, and he didn't blame her. Wounds like that hurts much more than blade being whipped across flesh. He had experience.

"Lets just cast a town portal," Ollan said. "We're hurting her too much." 

"Don't," Moran said before shrieking again as Kail tripped on a crack and stumbled. "Oh…we're nearly there. Don't waste it on me."

They walked slowly towards the entrance, where the guards and Fara were more than happy to greet them.

"We have to remove the dust," Fara said after a quick inspection of Moran's arm. "Let's get her to my place now."

Kail gripped his forehead and gritted his teeth. He felt that if he had to hear Moran scream in pain again he would die from the lump forming in his throat. He watched Greiz's guards fire another fire rocket into the air to alert Jerhyn and the others at the island.

He walked inside Fara's house and was met by a grotesque sight. Moran was lying down on her bed, with Thorn holding onto her legs, Nikan her right arm, and Ollan praying in the corner. Fara was holding what looked like a pair of miniature swords held together by a bolt. She was using it to remove the dust.

She inserted the blades into Moran's wound.

She screamed and her body lurched. "No! NO!" She cried. "PLEASE! That hurts so much!"

"Hold still, Moran, please!" Nikan said.

"SHIT!" Moran shouted again. "GIVE ME ALE! GIVE ME SOMETHING SO I DON'T FEEL THE PAIN!"

Fara pulled the blades out again, this time holding a tiny metallic dust no bigger than a grain of sand.

"Oh Moran!" He felt his voice crack, a sob building up in his throat. He turned away and ran out, clutching his stomach with one hand and grabbing hold of his mouth with the other. It was too much for him. If he watched for one more second he would have vomited.

"Why did you break out like that?" Ollan grabbed his shoulder. "That wasn't exactly helpful to Moran."

He felt his mouth drop open. "I-"

"Go in there and _do_ something," Ollan said. "Talk to her. Hold her still. Sponge her forehead. She has a very high fever."

That made him run back inside Fara's house, and he spent the next few hours holding her hand and placing a rag of wet cloth of her forehead. Finally, after the last gruesome "squelch" from the blades, one last scream, Fara had removed the last of the metallic dust.

"You doing all right?" Kail asked her.

"Wow…that pain was so bad, I wished I died or something," she shook her head. She sounded tired.

"You sure you removed everything?" Thorn asked Fara.

"Quite sure," Fara dropped the blades into a silver bowl of water on a stool. The water turned dark crimson as she washed her hands and rinsed the blades. "But if the fever doesn't break soon, tell me."

"Let's get you back," Thorn took her into his arms and Kail had a sudden pang of wanting to be the one to hold her. But Thorn was easily the biggest of them, and holding her without an effort won't hurt so much.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Kail asked again as they walked towards the inn.

He caught Moran rolling her eyes. "Yes, Kail. If I die, be sure to engrave, "Thorn has a birthmark the exact same shape of your head on his ass" on my tomb stone will you?"


	9. Off Guard

Pain…so much pain…

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan.

A one-minute commercial…

Okay guys, sorry this is a short chapter. I'm in school right now and it looks like it's going to be a pressuring year :P. I'll continue to write, but chapters will be updated slower. Another thing, Studio Weird (a friendly group of artists and writers including me who hang out every once in a while in a shabby house in Bangkok, Thailand otherwise known as Studio Weird) is working on a website dedicated to Diablo II and my fanfic. It'll have the story, artwork, and who knows what else. I'll try to get it up by next month, or maybe later. There's HTML to work out, pictures to draw, links to lay out…you know, the pressuring stuff ;). But I'll alert everyone once it's on the net. And thank you for reviewing and reading! P.S: This chapter is dedicated to all those wonderful people who have reviewed my fic and ask for more. One last thing…my heart goes for the tragedy that befell America. I will continue to pray for those who are hurting physically, mentally, and spiritually. And remember; don't judge people by their skin color. The Middle East might be involved in this, but it doesn't mean every single one of them is evil. Slogans and graffiti like "Kill Arabia!" or "Murder Afghanistan" does not help. Anger only at the real culprits, not at their innocent cousins. Thank you. ~~~~~~~~~~~ *  Pain…so much pain…

"Ah!" 

Moran shot up from her bed and immediately clutched her injured arm. It turned out her staff was rubbing on it. She shoved it off her bed and it landed on the brick floor with a few soft clunks, muffled by whatever piece of clothing was on the floor.

A few rays of light seeped through the heavy patterned curtains. Another day, another fight. She touched her arm absentmindedly as she wondered if she'd live through this one. At home, she would be throwing two pieces of Pop-Tarts into the toaster, and hiding her mother's favorite whiskey into his highest drawer in the kitchen behind a couple of cereal boxes. Then she'd go to school, come back home again to find that her mother had thrown all the cereal on the floor and the whiskey bottle was gone. Then she'd clean up, do her homework, and go to bed. 

Did she want to go back? Life here, in this other world was interesting and much, much more exiting than life at home. Was she needed back? She sighed and swung her legs off the bed.

She dressed quickly, and rearranged her armor on the bed so she wouldn't have to hunt for it before they went out. She brushed her hair with two quick strokes on the makeshift bone comb and hurried down. Down there, she found all the others in full armor, surrounding a small table and eating what looked like roasted pork.

"What!" She groaned. "You all didn't wake me? Hold on, I'll go up and change-"

"Wait," Thorn grabbed her arm. "You're not going with us."

She glared at him. "What?"

"You're still injured, for one thing and…" Nikan shrugged. "What happened last night…"

Hot anger flowed through her. "Are you saying that I'm too "weak" to manage this fight?" Her voice dripped with icy poison.

Kail lifted a wooden mug full of steaming liquid. "We never said that." He looked at her with his piercing eyes as he drank. "How's your arm?"

She moved it to show it to him, and winced at the pain. "Fine."

"See?" He offered his mug to her. "Want some? It helps relive pain."

She knocked it out of his hands with her injured arm. It clattered on the floor and the liquid steamed and hissed. "Damn it! No, I'm going!" She turned on her heel to leave for her room. "Wha-"

She felt Kail grab both her arms and whipped them behind her back faster than a Fallen could say "Rakanishu!" and held her upright. "Come on," he gruffly said.

"What! You can't do this to me!" She protested, twisting wildly, but ended up having to stay still because her arm was hurting her. Following Kail, feeling exactly like how a dog must feel after being scolded, she followed him up to her room in Elzix's inn. He kicked the door open.

"Come on…" She pleaded. "I don't want to be left out."

"Better left out than-" Kail let go of her arms but pressed her right wrist on the bedpost. He pulled out his wand from his pocket and jammed it roughly on her wrist. 

"Hey!"

Bones sprouted from the bedpost and wrapped around her wrist, similar to the bone walls and cages Kail does. She glared at him and he returned it with a grin.

"Handy spell, isn't it?" He smiled.

"Fuck you," she muttered under her breath.

"It'll last for a time, don't worry," he jammed his wand back into his pocket. "Don't even think about running after us."

"Yes, mother hen," she said.

"Well, you and Thorn _do_ get along well," Kail rolled his eyes, grabbed his white hair and tied a knot at the base of his neck with a leather thong. "Behave, will you?"

"Yes, mother hen."

"Oh shut up," he slammed the door shut.

"Hey, lay me an egg will you?" She shouted.

"That's your job. I'm not a woman," he shouted back, sounding far away.

"Really?" She shouted back, but he was probably downstairs by now.

Sighing, she tested her bond and found it to be indeed, _very_ secure and she had no choice but to sit in the hot room with flies buzzing outside. She was becoming very warm, and her hair plastered to the base of her neck.

"Damn…" she muttered. She violently moved her wrist.

The bone cracked.

After a few more struggles, she finally broke free and rubbed her wrist. "Kail is going to get it bad when he gets here," she muttered fiercely as she walked down the hall. She clomped down the stairs to what you would call the "lobby" of Elzix's inn. She sat on one of the chairs and placed her feet on top of another.

"Why are you sulking for?" Elzix asked and she glared at him. "Want anything to eat?"

"No," she swung her legs off the chair and headed back up. While she was at it, she could do something like hiding Kail's underclothes or dull Thorn's armor. Not that it needed any more dulling, that barbarian never even took care of severe dents. 

She opened Kail's door with a clever ice bolt that froze the lock into a chunk of ice that was easily broken after she kicked it. She swung open the door and whistled.

It was probably one of Elzix's better rooms, and she might as well put it as a V.I.P room. It was nothing like hers. Almost the entire tiled, red clay floor was covered with a large black carpet splashed with colorful birds and flowers. A mattress was set on the floor and covered with pillows and a blanket sprawled untidily near the balcony, which had gossamer purple curtains blocking some of the view of the sea.

Other than that, his armor, clothes, miscellaneous oddities, and a book were tossed all over the room. Kail was definitely not a very neat necromancer. It was a little too messy for her to do anything cruel to it, so she left, sighing.

Her eyes darted back to the open book on the mattress.

She walked back and picked it up. It was a Tomb of Town Portal.

She bit her lip. Didn't they all share one tomb? Did they have another one? Did they _forget it_?

She sank down on his mattress and chewed her lip. No, the Five-well, actually the _four_ now that they left without her-were not that careless. But if they did forget it-a vision of four warriors crawling on sandy ground with a throng of demons coming behind them was looking more and more realistic in her head.

She nearly tripped as she picked up the tomb and ran from Kail's room into her own. She threw the door shut and jerked off her clothes. She had to go quick.

Balancing on one foot, she jerked a thin shirt over the leather "bra" she wore as she tightened the heavy suede/leather pants around her waist. She jammed on a pair of laced boots that went nearly to her knees as she struggled to free the Undead Crown from her back. She slipped it on her head, laced up the leather and steel armor, fixed the shoulder plates, and stuck in whatever she needed into her bag. She was about to pick up her staff when a though occurred.

She had to find them fast, and she'll need a horse. No way was she using a staff to fight on horseback. She needed a sword and a shield. Whispering an "excuse me" to wherever Ollan was, she ran to the Paladin's bedroom and barged in after breaking the lock. Ollan's room was a lot neater than Kail's and it didn't take her very long to locate a shield light enough for her to hold and a dirk that glowed blue. She strapped the shield on her arm, the dirk to her side and hurried down.

"Back so-whoa, what's with the armor?" Elzix looked at her.

"Get me horse, come on!" She said. "The others…I think they're in trouble."

He left and came back fast with a large stallion, tacked with what looked like a real war saddle and bridle, all complete with a single hprn protruding from the forehead. After quick thanks, she mounted the saddle.

She let her anger built as she trot towards the city gates. This was too much. Kail and the others leaving her and not letting her come with them-and left one the things that might save their lives. She drew the dirk from the sheath and swung it into a stabbing grip. She grinded her teeth together and held the double reins in one free hand.

The horse lengthened into a canter with the slightest push of her calves and release of the reins. The sun beat down on her back, and she had a sudden urge for water.

She slowed the horse down to a walk to get the skin from the saddle when she had a prickly feel of being watched. She sat upright in the saddle, her hand gripping the dirk shaking slightly.

_Don't turn back! If you do, whatever it is, it'll come for you_.

She raised her arm until it was level with her shoulder. Looking into the shiny metal gauntlet, she caught sight of a dozen dog-like demons skittering across the sand. 

Cold sweat broke on her forehead.

With her nervous, shaking hands, the horse broke free and she saw one of the demons leap up into the air.

Giving a shout, she raised the dirk high above her head. She heard a squeal of pain and warm blood trickled onto her hand. The dead, heavy thing made her loose her balance for a second as she struggled to free it from the dirk. 

The were all around her now, and thankfully the horse who was trained as a battle creature, did not panic and throw her off, but it didn't stop him from breaking into a gallop to get away from the demons. Moran looked back and the creatures were following at an amazing speed.

_Do something, you're a sorceress_…

"_Phillipe dominay_," she shouted and fire burst from the horse's hooves. She grinned to herself. The Blaze spell worked perfectly as she heard the screams of the terrified beasts and the smell of roasted flesh in the heavy air. She gagged once and sped up until it was quiet again.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Having a horse was definite advantage. She gave the animal a good pat on the neck as they slowly walked across the sand.

A spear appeared out of nowhere and zoomed towards her.

_No! Not Cats again_…

Moran cried out and jerked on the left rein. The horse wheeled the same time as the spear struck the shoulder plate. The spear, thankfully, gave her the full impact of shoving her from the saddle and landing on the sandy floor but it did pierce through the armor. 

Coughing, she gripped the sand and tried to gasp for breath. Pain wracked through her body.

"Oh no, MORAN!"

She gulped in air, and finally felt it reach her lungs. She slumped on the ground as four blurry faces peered at her. Nikan cried out and jerked the shoulder plate off.

"Hey, are you all right?"

That would be Kail. Moran tried to speak, but can't. 

"Hold on, don't move," Thorn's heavy hand went on her shoulder. 

She finally found her voice. "Damn…Ow, that hurts."

"Looks like your aim was off, Nikan," Ollan said and he grinned. Moran pushed herself up with an elbow.

"My aim wasn't _off_, she moved," Nikan said.

"Good thing I did," Thorn helped her sit up. "That spear would've killed me."

"And we're going to kill you afterwards," Kail picked up the shoulder plate and looked at the dent that was nearly five inches deep. "Do you know how much it's going to cost to repair this? Didn't I tell you _to stay where you are_?"

"Fuck you, Kail," she spat out angrily, wondering at the back of her head whether he had any idea yet what "fuck" meant. Picking herself up, she tore the backpack she hooked on the saddle and threw the tomb out at his feet. "You left this."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You left the tomb of Town Portal in your room!" Moran said. "Damn it Kail, it basically means that you left a tomb of Town Portal in your room, which is about the only thing that can save your ass when you don't have healing potions left. Oh, and what if you're crawling around for water, miles and miles away from town!"

Kail remained silent for a while. Finally, he spoke. "So you actually thought that we would actually not bring a town portal with us?"

Her heart suddenly sank. "What?"

He pulled out a scroll with a single blue ribbon around it. "Feast your eyes Moran. I just didn't want to drag around a book."

"But-but-" she suddenly felt like someone stepped on her head and said she was crap. 

Thorn laid a hand on her shoulder and patted it. "Well, we have to say you would risk your life for us."

"Of course I would," she bit her lip, picked up the tomb and shoved it back inside her bag. "Guess I'll be leaving now."

"Oh…just come with us," Nikan said.

"No she's not!" Kail said.

"Who died and made you leader of our group?" Moran shouted back. 

"_I_ am the leader of the group!"

Ollan's quiet voice came. "Kail, you're worried about her. We all know that but there's no reason to hold her back."

Kail was on Ollan faster than Moran could blink. "You keep your mouth shut, Paladin."

At that moment, through the shock that she was trying to filter, a band of cats crawled up behind Ollan and Kail.

"Let…go…" Ollan's voice held an icy anger that she had never heard before.

"Guys! Cats!" Moran screamed, swinging her shield over her face to blow a spear. She staggered backwards. She tried to grab the reins, but it was too late. The horse reared in terror and sped back to Lut Gholein. 

She continued to fight, but most of it was blocking spears. She managed to see her hand slice open a cat before everything quieted down. Nikan was down on her legs and one palm, breathing heavily. One hand gripped a pilum while the other balanced her crouched position. Thorn was gripping a cat by the neck, and looked like he had broken it. Kail and Ollan were nowhere in sight.

"You all right there, Moran?" Thorn asked, giving the cat one final look of disgust and throwing it down.

"I'm fine," she panted. "Where's Kail and Ollan?" 

"What? I thought they were on the other side of you," Thorn looked past her. 

"No…" Moran bit her lip. "You don't think-"

"Shh!" Nikan held up a bloody finger. "Do you hear that?" 

"Hear what?" 

A violent wind rushed through the desert, and at that very moment, the sand around them bulged as if humps were growing from the sand. For a very long moment, things seemed to move in slow motion. Moran saw Thorn yell as dozens of Cats appeared from the sand. 

"A trap!" He cried.

Moran felt a sharp prick in her neck and she pulled out what was a long dart with a blackened end.

The world swam into blackness and the last thing she felt was someone grabbing her arms roughly as she went down to her knees.

Kail opened his eyes and the first thing he felt was someone leaning onto his back. His hands were chained and the air was freezing cold. So cold his teeth were shattering the moment he felt it hit him. It was so dark he couldn't see a singling thing except for a small beam of light that landed next to his boot.

"Ollan," he said between shivers. "Ollan, hey. Wake up."

He felt the Paladin move. "Hey, Ollan. Are you all right?"

"Hmm?"

"Ollan, open your eyes."

"My eyes are open. All I see is blackness."

"Ollan, listen. Do one of your auras. We need light."

"I can't move, Kail. And my arm hurts like hell. I think it's broken."

Kail uttered a curse under his breath, his chest heaving. "All right…try to stand-no! No, wait! Aaargh!"

He fell backwards on Ollan, and after several grunts and yells of pain from Ollan, they were back in the same position.

"Let's do this again," Kail grinded his teeth. "We stand _at the same time_." 

"And then what?" Kail felt Ollan's finger flexed against his, trying to break loose from the bonds.

"I don't know." His answer made the air turn colder. "What happened?"

"All I remembered was a whole bunch of cats came up on us. I killed a few-and then…"

"You broke your arm and we're in somewhere freezing cold in Lut Gholein," Kail molded his voice into cheerful sarcasm. 

"Shut up," Ollan said, and Kail could almost see him glaring. "Where is it coldest in Lut Gholein?"

"As far as I remember, Tal Rasha's chamber with Duriel in it."

Both of them fell silent at the word "Duriel".

"Oh damn…how long till we die?"


	10. Horazon

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan.

**Took be long to update this chapter? I agree ;) It's mainly because of school, but I promise I'll be on schedule soon. And the promised website…is almost ready. For now, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas with this Diablo II Card. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

Chapter Ten: Horazon's Wish

Her pillow was all gritty and it was scratching her face like crazy. Moran moaned.

"Time to wash the pillows," she moaned. "Hey mom – "

She opened her eyes and immediately felt her throat dry and parched. She wasn't on a bed at home, and the thing on her head _definitely_ was not a gritty pillow. It was Thorn's massive giant of a leg.

"Ugh!" She moaned as she pushed her tired body from the sand and winced as she saw her arms. They were burnt badly, and no wonder they did. Someone had stripped her armor down, and all she was wearing were her suede leather pants and the frayed long sleeve shirt. They even removed the protective quilts that protected her body from being chaffed by the armor.

She looked at her surroundings. They were in some sort of hole – no, a basin, and was surrounded by walls of sand that rose almost twenty feet. Climbing one looked just about impossible.

"Damn!" She cursed and ran on the padded sand of the hole to Nikan who was lying face down. "Nikan," she dropped down next to the lying Amazon and gently turned her over. Nikan stirred gently and opened her eyes.

"Moran?"

"Look, we're in deep shit right now," Moran bit her lip. "Can you wake up Thorn? I'm going to see how far I can manage to climb up the wall."

She left Nikan and ran full speed to the wall in front of her. Jumping, she dug her heels into the fine sand and felt herself immediately slide down. Gritting her teeth, she threw all of her weight in front of her and moved up inch by inch.

"Come on, Moran. You can do better than that."

She yelped as she felt Thorn grab her ankles and shoved her up. She gasped as her hands frantically tried to find something to hang on. Thorn had done a good job. She was over halfway up...and slid down to the very bottom.

"I have to get to the top," she said. "Can you two like super-boost me?"

"Super-boost?" Thorn asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Just give me a hard enough shove that I can get to the top," she said.

Nikan and Thorn looked at each other and shrugged. "Full strength?"

"Yeah," Moran said.

Without another word, Nikan and Thorn went down on one knee, placing their hands on top of each other. Moran place one booted foot on them and crouched, ready to spring up. She took a deep breath.

"One three all right?" She said. "One two…three!"

She flew in the air, higher than she ever thought Nikan and Thorn could manage to throw her. She landed hard and slid down several feet on the sand before she managed to get a good grip. The top was only a few feet above her…

Panting and grunting, she finally made it up and she pulled herself up on top. She waved down to the others with a victorious grin and turned around.

Saber cats and Huntresses stared at her with menacing eyes.

With a scream as a javelin ripped through the side of her shirt, she tumbled down the hole.

"Finally!"

Kail broke free from Ollan and gave off a groan as he touched his raw, bleeding wrists. He stretched his muscles and looked at Ollan who was rubbing his arms.

"Is there a way out?" Kail whispered.

"Last time there wasn't a way out," Ollan said, his voice sounding like a frayed rope that was stretched to breaking limit. "There isn't a way out Kail!"

"Well then, we'll just HAVE TO MAKE A WAY THEN!" He screamed, shoving Ollan to the opposite wall. "WE DON'T HAVE ANY WEAPONS WITH US AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

Adrenaline poured through his veins and mixed with the angry chemical that was pounding through his brain to his heart. His chest pressed against Ollan's, his hands shoved hard against the paladin's throat, and his face inches away from his. His spider veins bulged on his arms as he wondered how many minutes it would take to kill Ollan with a single look.

"_Sssshkkkk…"_

"What the?" The veins on his arms sank back to their normal size the moment he heard the hiss. He released Ollan and leapt back. Duriel…Duriel…Duriel…

"Calm down…" Ollan said, his body turning gold as he released his strength aura. He looked at Kail. "You want it?"

He hesitated. "Well…"

"You want it or not?!" 

"I'll take it, but I don't want to be in debt," Kail shot back. But deep inside, he knew that he needed the aura. 

He felt warmth spread over his body and looked down, amazed to see his limbs bathed in a golden light. He hated to mention it, but Ollan's strength aura felt pretty good, both to his limbs that felt as weak as an amateur's javelin and what was left of his sacred body heat. 

"You know, you _could_ ask for it when you want it," Ollan said, as if reading his thoughts. 

"I told you, I don't want to be in dept."

"Suit yourself."

A stench of rotting meat that smelled like maggots have been eating away at it for several days filled the cave and he gagged, covering his mouth and ended up gagging more when he noticed his gauntlets were covered with filth.

"Duriel's stench," he heard Ollan swallow. "Duriel's damned stench."

Kail bent his knees and crouched, ready to spring. Sparks flew from his fingers, and he saw his reflection on one of the slimy pools of demon saliva upon the filthy ground. His eyes glowed an unearthly greenish yellow, as it always did when he was ready to curse. 

One long claw slipped from the shadows and into the sanctuary of the little light Duriel's Chamber held.

The creature has come.

He gave a shout and the dance of death began.

Moran cried out as a spear rammed for her unprotected stomach. Reflexively, she released an Ice Bolt and scrambled back on her feet. Several cats froze in blocks of ice, but not enough. Javelins flew at her at an alarming speed.

Crying out, she covered her face with her arms.

An orange flash blinded her for a split second and she looked up to see the javelins slow down. Not enough to comfort her, but enough to give her time to dodge.

_Thank you, Nikan, _she thought as she scrambled to the left. The javelins gently swerved past her and landed inside the pit.

_Perfect…weapons for our Amazon to use_. 

"Moran! Get out of the way! Now!" She heard Nikan yell.

She fell flat on her stomach and heard the _whiz whiz _of spears that flew over her head. Cats screamed and shouted in fury as they were knocked down into the grainy sand. 

Looking around, she noticed a length of thick rope lying next to a moaning cat. Grabbing the frayed end, she tied it securely around a pike that was jammed deep into the sand. Deep enough, she silently hoped as she threw down the rest of the rope into the pit. "Climb up!" She shouted.

She heard a screech and she whirled around to face the eyes of an angry saber cat. With a snarl, it snapped its whip and Moran cried out as the cruel piece of leather snapped around her neck. Choking and wheezing, she grabbed the whip and tried to pull herself free.

_Get a grip, Moran_.

She tried to free her hands and use her magic, but her limbs felt weak. Spots danced in front of her head and she suddenly felt too tired to even choke.

"Moran!"

She saw Thorn at the corner of her eye and he smashed his fist into the cat's head. With a lurch, the beast fell to her knees and let go of the whip. Moran swallowed in a breath and tore the leather from her neck.

"DAMN!" She cried, massaging her neck.

"You all right there?" Thorn grabbed her arm. She stumbled. "I-I think so."

"Give her this," Nikan handed the barbarian a bottle filled with red healing liquid. "We should go back before they come with even more cats."

"Where's our stuff?" Thorn opened the cork stopper with a _pop_ and handed the bottle to Moran. "Drink it."

She swallowed the bittersweet potion in one gulp and wiped her mouth. "Where to next?"

"Are you up to traveling?"

"I am," she said with more confidence than she felt. 

"I want you two to go and get the Horadric cube. I'll manage the staff and the amulet," Thorn looked at them. "Both of you ahead and kill Horazon's impersonator. I'll meet you in the Magi Canyon."

Nikan nodded. "Take care of yourself. It's bad enough we don't have Kail and Ollan."

_Canyon of the Magic_? _Horazon? Horadric Cube_? 

"I'm in trouble," she whispered. "Now I'm _really_ in trouble." 

"Hello."

The tension left his stressed muscles so quickly he nearly collapsed. Kail staggered backwards and bumped into Ollan who roughly shoved him back. It was a human voice…not Duriel's 

The giant talon they took to be one of Duriel's turned out to be a large severed leg belonging to a giant spider. A man wearing a heavy cloak stepped from the shadows and brushed off his heavy cloaks that were covered with cracked spider slime. He raised his head.

He was a small man, so short that the tip of his head only reached the top of Kail's stomach. His shiny baldhead was covered with dust and small dark eyes twinkled shrewdly. He grasped an aged staff in his hand.

"You two look like a pair of dead fish," the man said. "Don't gape at me like that."

Instead, Kail asked, "Who are you?"

"Me?" The man placed his staff on the ground and patted his hands on his robes. "I'm known as Horazon."

"What the – "

"You can't be Horazon…I mean…"

"Don't expect Horazon to look like this small man do you?" Horazon sat down on a rock. "My _you do_ judge things badly."

"What are you doing here?" Ollan asked.

"Waiting until someone wakes Duriel up," Horazon shrugged. "Duriel is asleep, and he will not wake until the Horadric Staff opens the door of his chamber."

Kail felt anger surge through him, and with a cry, he leapt from his rock and whirled an arm around the old man's neck. "Why don't we finish you off right now, Horazon!? You shed the blood of too many people – too many innocent people. It's now time for your blood to mingle with theirs!"

"Kail! Stop it!" Ollan shouted. 

"Kill me then, there's no difference…" Horazon wheezed, trying to speak through the arm that pressed on his throat. "Spare my suffering…I am old, and those demons betrayed me…" He laughed. "Take my advice…never trust a demon, or even use them for slaves as I did. They will betray you, no matter what."

"If you had so much the wisdom you did as you do now, then why enslaved those creatures?" Kail asked.

"I know they will betray me…" Horazon sounded smug. "The price I paid for dark power. Kill me."

"How did we end up here? I want to know," Kail whispered dangerously. "How did Ollan and I get here? Didn't we have to go through the Arcane Sanctuary from Jerhyn's palace? And the seven tombs of Tal Rasha! Six of them are false – how did we get here?"

"I still have some powers within me," Horazon said. "And many dark demons have teleporting skills, or bodies that may pass through matter and time. The many species of the Wraith for example. I ordered them to bring a few of the Five to Tal Rasha's chamber." 

"You _brought_ us here? Why?" 

"Because I want to die," Horazon answered. "I'm tired and I want to meet my Lords in Hell. Only warriors like you have the ability to truly kill me. Only Heroes like you can truly send me to Hell."

Kail released the man and shoved him back. "Sit on your rock, Horazon. If luck is with you, you may die when our friends opens this unholy chamber and one of these stones fall on your thick skull."

Horazon stared at him. "KILL ME NOW!" The great Vizjerei Summoner, Horazon, pleaded.

"No."

Kail stepped back.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Ollan looked at Horazon who was moaning madly.

"Because that's what he wants me to do."


	11. To Use Death's Scythe

© Diablo is copyrighted by Blizzard. All rights reserved. All I own are the plot and these names: Kail, Moranah, Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan.

Sorry for the delay people, but what can a writer do when the writer has work that drowns her everyday? Maybe I should stop writing this fic…HA! **FOOLED YOU ALL!!** Nah, I'll be writing this until it's done. In fact, I already have the Expansion Set's (sequel) first few chapters done J . I know…stab me with your pitchforks. I should be keeping my mind on Time Blood J

Um…a few more things. Some stuff in this chapter hints what will happen in Expansion Set chapters ***see my eyes twinkle***

Website? Did someone mention websites? Or was it me? I gave up on the idea. Yet, they'll be a "Diablo section" in my personal website for art. Maybe if I finish my sketches I'll be done soon…

Did I mention that my computer was off without sound for a while so I had to play the Expansion set without ever hearing the noises? Well, lo and behold by the power of Tyrael's wings and a bit of my own technical knowledge I get at the Intro classes, I fixed it. And…anybody notice that the Druid's voice is extremely sexy? Yes, I know you need to know that…

Chapter Eleven: To Use Death's Scythe 

"This is the Dry Hills, I'm sure of it!" Nikan pushed pass Moran. The Amazon ran up a high dune and pointed down. "Look! Lut Gholein is glittering in the distance!"

Moran tried to swallow and found out she couldn't from the extreme dryness in her mouth. She coughed and squeezed her gauntlets covered hands. The arm locks on Ollan's shield she borrowed from his room was cutting into her wrist painfully and the light sword at her side was starting to feel heavy. She felt like dropping on her knees and passing out. 

"Moran!"

"Coming," she shouted and scrambled up the dune. True enough, she could see something glittering in the distance that was probably Jehryn's palace in Lut Gholein. Closer, much closer, was an aged and weathered building that rose from the sand that looked liked a cross between a temple and an eastern type mausoleum.

"The Halls of the Dead," Nikan pointed. "There lies the cube we seek."

"Yeah and…" Moran stopped. There was something wrong. The dome that was glittering so brilliantly was now dark and dull. She looked closer and noticed some sort of shadow was creeping very rapidly over the city, and was heading right for them.

"Nikan!" She cried. "Nikan, what the hell?"

Nikan crossed her arms over her breasts. "I see. The Claw Vipers are at work again. A little bit of light before it reaches us…"

She walked to the nearest pile of skeletons belonging to a large animal and tore out a large piece of bone. "Moran, do you happen to have any pieces of cloth you can spare?"

Moran reached into her pack and pulled out a worn cloak she managed to find in a chest. Nikan took it and after shredding it into long strips, she carefully wrapped each strip around the bone until she had formed a tight round ball of cloth. It somehow looked like an enormous Q-tip.

"One fire ball Moran, and aim carefully," Nikan warned and held out the bone.

"It is done," Moran held out her hands and the spell recited itself inside her head. She felt warmth and a fireball as large as her head erupted from her fingers and hit the cloth. It burst into a bright fire.

"Any time now," Nikan held out the torch. 

Blackness washed over them and it wasn't for the burning fire on the bone, she would have been in complete darkness. The temperature dropped dramatically yet the sand was still burning hot.

"Weapons out," Nikan said. 

"How are you going to fight?" Moran asked.

"This is an exceptional weapon," Nikan waved the torch around. She swung her large gold shield around. "And this can be used as a weapon as well. Keep that in mind."

She led the way with the light and Moran followed. "So," she said when the silence was too hard to bear. "Someone better explain to me about this entire Horadric business."

"I'll explain while we walk. Is that all right with you?"

"Why not?"

"Long ago, the Horadrim sealed off Tal Rasha's tomb by placing a specially designed staff over his chamber door," Nikan said. "This staff serves as a key and the tomb can not be opened except through this staff. Sometime later, they nearly lost to staff to a thief and so they decide to separate the parts of the staff and hide them in different places. The Horadric scroll that we found in the sewers tells us the exact location where these parts are. Well…tell Cain anyway, because he's the only one who could read the runes. And our job is to find those missing pieces and restore the staff so we may open Tal Rasha's chamber and kill him."

"Sounds simple. We know where the parts of the staff are, so we take them and put them together."

"Not as simple as you think," Nikan stopped and waved the torch. "There's a well there. Take a drink."

Moran suddenly became aware of her thirst again and she hungrily ran to the well. She fell down on her knees and scooped the lukewarm water into her mouth.

"To restore the staff, you need a special box called the Horadric Cube," Nikan went down next to her and drank the water. She wiped her mouth. "This Horadric Cube has special transforming powers that may transform two items into something else. So after we find parts of the staff, we place them inside this cube and if it transforms, then we get out key to Tal Rasha's chamber."

"And that is not all the cube does,' Nikan stood up. "The cube transforms many things. Some of great use to us…some of worthless rubbish."

"…Sounds mysterious," Moran raised her eyebrows. "So we find this cube in there?" She turned and looked at the dark gaping doorway. 

"The Halls of the Dead," Nikan struck an impressive yet threatening pose as she pointed her torch at the dark doorway that looked like a mouth of a beast, wide and open. "The Halls of the _Undead_. Let's go Moran, send them all to hell one last time, and permanently."

"I can never get use to this!!" Moran half screamed as a skeleton about twice as tall as she was rammed at her with a broken sword. She ducked and whacked her sword against the dusty knee joints. The pieces of frail, arthritic bones flew and scattered over the sandy floor. 

"That wasn't so hard," she grinned at Nikan. 

"Just wait," she murmured, kicking up a dusty bow into her hands. "I'm out of javelins so this will have to do."

A cold wind swept through the tomb. So cold that it made Moran go down on her knees and cough as the freezing sensation pierced her bones and her brain. She gasped for breath. "Nikan!" She rasped. "Nikan help!"

She coughed and shivered. _I can't take this anymore…it's too cold…it's too cold…_

"Here!" Nikan shouted and she heard a sharp _clink_ of a healing potion vial.

The bottle clattered and clinked against the stones as he hit Moran's hand. She peeled open her drying eyes and clutched the bottle.

_One chance to survive, one chance to…_

She ignored the pain in her sinews and tendons as she placed the cork in her teeth and pulled. The potion dripped and flowed into her frozen tongue.

Heat regenerated itself into her body and in no more than a few seconds, she managed to leap on her feet and run to Nikan's side.

"What was that?" She rasped, hitting her chest. 

"A Greater Mummy, a Revealer, a Reaper," Nikan said. "There's many species, but they all look a like except for a few differences, like for example, Tal Rasha is a Greater Mummy. The one that managed to hit you with one of its Resurrecting spells is a Reaper."

"So it resurrects…"

"Anything that was dead before," Nikan looked at her with stormy blue eyes that flickered gold with the torch's flame she was carrying. 

A thought struck her. "Kail…"

"I know what you're thinking," Nikan said. "I don't pretend I'm an expert on Necromancers, because I'm not, but Kail does not have a single drop of a Reaper's blood in his body. He raises the dead, but only to use for the light. You're not born a Necromancer, you become one."

"Why would he even want to become a Necromancer?" She burst. 

"Necromancy isn't all about raising the dead," Nikan said softly. "Kail's very quiet about this subject and as far as he's told us, his entire family had a reputation for keeping honor in the family on a certain type of magic…well, I don't really know if that certain magic is Necromancy because it isn't considered a very high honor among people."

"Well…Kail's strange," Moran shrugged.

"And so are you, Sorceress," Nikan tapped her on her forehead with the end of the torch. "Come on. I hear the Cube calling to us."

Nimbly, the Amazon ran forward and Moran followed, jumping over bones and a head of a Reaper. 

"Fuck you," she muttered as she stepped on it's decaying tongue. Acid squirted from one of the bubonic like taste buds, biting through the steel toe of her boot.

"Moran! I've found it!"

Excited, she ran as fast as she could through the piles of bones and rotten corpses. Nikan waved something small and rusty at her.

"_That's _the cube?" She cried. "We fought through tons and tons of dead bitches for _that_?"

What Nikan said was the Horadric cube was basically…a cube. It was a little larger than her fist and was once probably gold. The metal and the fancy etchings on it were weathered down to a charcoal black.

"Can I see it?"

Nikan tossed it to her and she looked at the little box. For the first time, she noticed it had a small button on its side and she pressed it, almost expecting a Jack-in-the-box to pop out. Instead, the lid popped away and a small gold light peaked out in a thin steam, as if someone had placed a flashlight inside.

"So…"

"Here, let me show you what it does," Nikan reached into her pack and pulled out three small sapphires, all of them badly chipped. She dropped them into Moran's hands. "Put them inside the box."

"Whatever you say," she dropped the gems into the box and shut the lid. Light exploded from inside, filtering through the cracks, causing her to yell and drop the box.

"No harm done," Nikan laughed. "Now look inside."

Moran bent down and picked up the box. She pressed the button and flipped it over, giving it a few good shake. A single heavy object hit her hand. Nikan flashed her torch over it and a single beautiful yet slightly flawed sapphire glittered in her palm.

"That single sapphire, when inserted into a weapon can kill an Unraveler with one blow," Nikan said softly. "The Horadric cube is an amazing thing."

"I bet," Moran whispered. "What other things does this box do?"

"It can hold a bow, a spear, and a javelin at the same time," Nikan said. 

"As they always say, size doesn't matter."

"Let's go."

It was strange to walk through Lut Gholein at around noon without any sunlight. People still went through the daily lives as if nothing happened. Yet, their actions showed an increase in their cautiousness. Children were snapped and scolded at when they played too close to the darkness parts of the town. Far too many candles, more than they would use on a normal night were burned in every house and shop. A large number of people had gathered at Atma's place to enjoy each other's company and to avoid the loneliness and horror of darkness.

"Would you like to go in for a drink?" Nikan asked Moran as they walked pass the bustling place. "I'll go and drop our things off for repair and get something better for you to fight in."

"Sure," Moran bent her head down and pulled off Leoric's crown. She handed it to Moran and massaged her temples. Wearing that crown made her feel more powerful, but right now she was glad it was off. It was starting to feel like she had place an entire sack of potatoes on her forehead.

"Go on," Nikan said.

Moran smoothed down her shirt and walked inside. Atma's place was as crowded and noisy as ever. A pack of men sat grimly and argued.

"I don't care if the caravan is long past delay! Do you know how many fouls are active in this darkness?"

Swallowing hard, she walked past the men and was jostled hard in the shoulder by someone.

"Oof-"

"Sorry," a boy said. He was about fifteen or sixteen, with wavy brown hair tied at the nape of his neck. He was about ready to walk away when he took a second look at her. "Wait! You're the sorceress!"

"I…am," she said.

"Hello!" The boy took her hand and shook it. "I'm Jahear – Atma's son!"

"Hi," she said weakly and massaged her head.

"Would you like to sit down?" He said, taking her hand and dragging her to a chair.

"Can you show me somewhere quiet?" She said. "I don't feel that well."

"_Ach-shament!_" the boy exclaimed in his own tongue. "Anything you say, Sorceress. You killed Radament – I owe you everything!"

All Moran could do was nod tiredly as the boy led her behind the kitchen where Atma was shouting orders to her workers. It was not as loud as outside, but not as quiet. She wished she were back in her inn, maybe with a roaring fire and something cool to drink. Her head ached enough to split open Lut Gholein.

"Atma – " she said weakly. "I'm sorry, I guess I'll just sit down –"

"Yes, yes," Atma gave her shove that sent her sprawling on a chair with a single cushion on it. "Get the potatoes, Albo! Pechra, the chickens are burning!"

Moran shut her eyes and stiffened the bile that was ready to rise out from her throat.

_She was walking through some sort of tunnel, holding a large and glowing staff in her hands. She felt powerful and energized, as if nothing can hurt her. Demons and the Undead backed away from her as they saw her staff._

_ Then she saw some sort of alter with seven signs upon it._

_ Walking up to the alter, she placed the staff on it's resting place._

_ The ground shifted underneath her and the wall behind the alter crumbled and shrieked madly along with the cries of fear from the beasts and monsters._

_ "Moran!" A man's voice cried from the crumbled wall. "Moran!"_

_ "KAIL – "_

_ Another voice rose from the wall. "You have woken Duriel who had rest so calmly in Tal Rasha's chamber. For this, you must pay with your life and soul."_

"AHH!" She cried and split her eyes open. "KAIL!"

The tomb, the alter, and the crumbled wall melted into Atma's kitchen with many faces staring at her as if she were mad.

She shoved the chair back so hard it clattered and fell back. She ran from the kitchen, even pushing a large man back hard enough to make him fall.

"Nikan!" She screamed. "Nikan!"

The Amazon and Fara stared at her as she pushed back the racks of weapons and armor to get to the two women.

"Nikan – " she panted. "I know where Kail and Ollan are. _I know for sure_."


	12. The Gift of Blood

Here's a basic sketch of Kail, if anyone's interested in seeing my work in process of him…and HTML isn't cooperating with me today so here's the URL: http://www.geocities.com/studioweird/birthright.jpg

Again thank you for all your kind reviews (and flames!). They help me get over my writer's blood J

Busy with schoolwork, but will still write…

Happy Diablo-Killing!

Chapter 12: The Gift of Blood 

If Hell Fire burned fast, Moran ran faster.

Her heart pounded against her rib cage; threatening to break free from its prison of bone.

"Moran, wait!" 

Kail and Ollan were going to die!

"Wait! Wait!" Nikan grabbed her arm and both of them skidded hard on the sand. "Moran, where are you going? You don't even know where they are!"

"Yes I do! They're in some sort of…" she stopped. Reality struck her like a spear striking a corpse's soft, rotten flesh. "They're…"

"What you know is that they're in some sort of cave," Nikan folded her arms. "Can you…describe how this cave looks like?"

"I – " Moran stopped. "I – oh, damn it…I can't remember!"

Panic clutched at her throat and she whimpered.

"I – I…"

Her eyes wandered and landed on a crudely made walking stick.

"A staff!" She blurted. "I was carrying some sort of staff…"

Nikan suddenly stood very straight and she grabbed her shoulders. "Did this staff…hold some sort of power to it?"

Moran shut her eyes. "I don't know…made me feel kind of powerful in a way, like the demons couldn't hurt me. And then there was this alter with seven signs on it – "

"I have no idea how the two of them managed to get inside that place – " Nikan covered her mouth and her eyes were wide in horror. "We need to get out of there fast, and we need to find Thorn."

"We don't have time!" Moran said. "Why don't we just ditch the barbarian and rescue the necromancer and the paladin!"

"Ah!" Nikan whirled around and knocked down a barrel. "Listen, Moran! Ollan and Kail are inside Tal Rasha's chamber and we can't get in there without the headpiece!" 

Moran scrunched her eyebrows together. "But…"

"Not only do we not have the complete Horadric staff, but there are seven tombs to choose for," Nikan started pacing. "Six which are false…to discover the true tomb we have to go through the Harem…oh damn it…Damn you Diablo…"

"So what do we do?" Moran asked.

"…must find a way. No – don't have staff to open…Thorn, will you hurry up – "

"Nikan!" Moran shouted.

"Here's what we do, we go consult Drognan," Nikan slapped a hand down on Moran's shoulder as she stopped pacing. "If Ollan and Kail manages to find a way into the tomb, so can he."

"The mage?" Moran asked as she tried to keep up to Nikan's fast walking pace. 

Nikan nodded. "Quite wise – except for the fact that he never realizes we will never buy any of his weapons. Silly fool can't craft a thing worthy compared to Fara."

Moran tripped on an uneven tile as Nikan made a rough turn into a dark corner, empty except for a few dirty barrels, crates, and someone's house.

"Drognan – Drognan!" Nikan shouted.

"Eh?"

"Drognan!"

"Go away, it's the middle of the night."

"Not the middle of the night," Moran cut in dryly. "I'll give you a hint – Claw Vipers, amulets, and a stinking sun that refuses to shine."

"Moran? Nikan?" A middle-aged man straightening on a turban poked his head out from a window. "Where are the others?"

Nearly an hour later, they were three empty wooden mugs that held ale sitting on a worn grand table and Moran had repeated her dream several times to Drognan who constantly wrote on sheets of parchment with a large feather quill.

"Well…this is very interesting," Drognan finally put down his quill which Moran secretly thought it was ready to burst in flames from the speed he was taking his notes. "Do you two know how Tal Rasha – no, we should say Baal now, shouldn't we? Do you know how Baal was transported into his chamber?"

Moran looked at Nikan who shrugged her broad shoulders. "No, Drognan."

"Well, when the Horadrim trapped Baal into Tal Rasha's body, they had to find a way to put him into his chamber," Drognan folded his arms and leaned back. "They had to conceal the body in the safest of safest places. So with the help of simple magic and some very advance ones as well, they built seven tombs in an isolated canyon – now called Canyon of the Magi – where many dangerous creatures not known to Lut Gholein will guard these tombs without even a question (they'll rip anything that comes into the canyon to shreds, keep that in mind). But the seven tombs – six were false. And no one but the Horadrim and the Summoner know where the true tomb lies."

"And so," Drognan continued. "A tomb was chosen, but they don't want to create a door way to put the body in…so the chamber was made to be a room without doors, just four walls."

"Why not a door?" Nikan asked.

"Doors can lead to many things," Drognan's watery eyes looked at them. "They can lead things in – and they can lead things out. Who knows how strong Tal Rasha's body was? How weak can Baal be? Certainly not forever."

Moran's throat tightened.

"They created a species of Wraiths…with the help of the Summoner," Drognan bowed his head slightly. "You do know the great Vizjeri kept demons as slaves and had a great knowledge on these unholy creatures. The Horadrim did not want to meddle with these demons, but they had no choice. So they "borrowed" a few Wraiths with teleporting powers and trained them to move Baal into a selected tomb where they can go through the walls and back out again without moving a stone."

"And the only way…to get in was through the staff," Nikan whispered.

"That is correct," Drognan said. "But it seems like the Vizjeri did not destroy these Wraiths as he had promised to the Horadrim. It looks like he still has kept them as pets and they had transported your friends into Tal Rasha's chamber."

"Why would he do that?" Moran asked.

"Who knows how his brain works?" Drognan said. "And the Wraiths are the only way I know of getting inside Tal Rasha's chamber besides the staff."

Silence fell in the room. After awhile, Moran swallowed as much saliva as she had in her mouth and looked straight at the mage's eyes. "So. What lies in the tomb?"

"I'm pretty sure Baal had escaped," Nikan said. "And Duriel, the-the-the _insect_ lies there is…"

"Fresh meat," Moran stood up. "Drognan! Can you summon me a Wraith?"

The older man gasped and stood up as well. "Moran, this is madness! Why do you want to summon a Wraith?"

"Wraiths are the only way to get inside the tomb besides the staff right?" She crunched her teeth together. "Well then, a Wraith it is. We need to find a Wraith."

"But they were _trained_ Wraiths, Moran!" Drognan started collecting his notes and wiping his quill hastily. "Untrained Wraiths can kill you in an instant! What will Jehryn say if he knows there is a Wraith being summoned in his city?"

"Then summon the same Wraiths that took Baal and my friends into the tomb then!" Moran felt heat rise up on her arms. "I don't care what you say Drognan, I'm going to summon a Wraith."

"Do you even know how to summon a Wraith?" Drognan's voice rose.

Fire burst on her arms. "No! I don't know! But _you_ do!"

Nikan rose up and made a sound deep in her throat as a warning. "Moran…"

"Look, child…sorceress," Drognan said. "To summon a Wraith…you need to pay it a price. Especially for the Vizjeri's Wraiths." 

"Name it."

"Blood from the artery on the inside of your wrists," Drognan's voice was grim and dry. "And once you start giving it to them, they won't stop until they're satisfied."

"But will they let me take them to where I want to go? And back again?" 

Drognan sighed deeply. "Once a Wraith has its blood, they will become your slaves."

"Moran…I don't think you should do this," Nikan said. "It's too risky."

"No it's not," Moran folded her arms. "You'll go with Thorn when he gets back and I'll stay here and do it my way. It's my fault anyway…" she lowered her eyes. "It's my fault all of you have to go through this again…"

Nikan's mouth dropped. "Moran…"

A heavy thud came on the door. "Hello?"

"Thorn!" Nikan cried and swung open the door. "You're back!"

Moran turned to the Barbarian and the Amazon. "Go. If I die, be sure to send a postcard."

"You don't have to do this." Drognan pulled a large mirror into the empty room. 

"I know, but I want to," Moran said. "So what do I do?"

"Wear this," Drognan handed a pile of what looked like white gauze into her hands.

"What is it?" 

"Undress and wrap this around your body, and leave the ends from your arms hanging loose," Drognan said. "The reasons are, The Wraith will see your blood better, teleporting will be easier with thinner cloth, and once you get to your destination, the loose ends of the cloth can be wrapped around your wrists," Drogan pushed her into his room. "You can get dressed in there. I'll prepare things in here."

She shut the door behind her and discarded her clothes until she was naked. She unfolded the gauze like cloth and begun wrapping it around her waist, upwards, and downwards, and around her upper arms. It was thin enough to be comfortable, but thick enough to cover wounds and to conceal her body. She loosened her hair and stuck a bottle of healing potion into the makeshift belt.

She opened the door and saw the large mirror in the middle of the room along with two silver bowls of water lying in front of it.

"All right," Drognan said. "Come sit here, in front of the mirror."

Taking a deep breath, she sat in front of the mirror.

"When I recite the summoning, I'll leave the room." Drognan said. "At the moment I leave, slit your wrists and throw the blade into the mirror, making sure you break it."

He took a shaky sigh. "Offer them your blood as quick as you can and…you know the rest," he handed her an ancient looking scimitar. "Good luck to you."

She took another deep breath. "Thank you."

Drognan opened a thick leather bound book and she shut her eyes. The words he recited and the hand motions he made suddenly made her feel like throwing up. She looked away and tried to think of something else.

She felt the door click shut and she opened her eyes. It was time.

She picked up the scimitar, and she threw it over the largest artery she could see on her left wrist. Pain throbbed on her arm as she quickly slit the other wrist. With all her might, she threw the scimitar at the mirror.

It broke into a thousand diamond shards.

She plunged her hands into the bowls of water.

Instead of seeing an empty wooden backing to the mirror, what she saw was a black hole with smoke curling inside it but never leaving the blackness. 

A hand protruded from the darkness.

A whimper tried to escape her throat, but she forced it down.

What was not in her vision of what a Wraith looked like at all stepped from the mirror. Actually…_four Wraiths_ stepped from the mirror.

They looked like normal men, except for the startling fact that what looked like leathery wings jutted from their muscular shoulders. They were so large that it looked like the entire room was filled with bat wings. Their faces and bodies were those of human men, yet their eyes were red with black veins. All of them had black hair that curled down their beautiful bodies and caressed the slick muscles.

"Wraiths…" Moran lifted her wrist. "I offer you the gift of blood, and in return you must take me to the True Tomb of Tal Rasha."

The tallest one bent down and took her arm, even caressing it. Moran winced as it bent down and sunk its sharp teeth into her wrist, sucking at the blood greedily.

She screamed both with pain and terror as a light suddenly burst from them and they all turned into… skeletons. Skeletons with over large bat wings that oozed unholy light that burned and fizzled. Skeletons with sharp canines. Skeletons with burning black eyes and wings.

"Ah!" She cried in pain as their teeth sucked greedily at he blood. "Please…"

Her vision dimmed with extreme pain, and suddenly, it left her.

She nearly thudded on the ground but a Wraith caught her. They had turned back into their dark "human form", but their eyes had turned black and all of them had her blood running from their sharp teeth and their lips. 

The Wraith that had caught her folded its wings around her body, almost gentle in matter. "Take…you…to…Tomb…" it said.

She shut her eyes against the burning heat of its arm. How can a body hold so much heat? She couldn't think straight, much less see. Her vision had black spots dancing around in it.

The next thing she knew, someone was calling her name out loud and the heat of the Wraith's body had left her. She felt stone and dirt, and someone's arms. Human arms.

"Ollan, quick. I think I see a healing potion on her waist…"

Someone poured something inside her mouth and someone else wrapped her arms with the extra gauze like cloth hanging loose.

"Moran! Don't die! Please don't die!"

Her vision turned completely black and she knew no more.


	13. Facing Death, Nevertheless

**Disclaimer Note: I do not own any of these Diablo II characters. They are all rightfully copyrighted to the gods at Blizzard. All I own are the plot, the names (Maybe "Thorn" is too common a name for me to own heh heh heh…), and their state of manipulated looks. **

** Another chapter generated from a dose of a very bad headache. Enjoy…I gotta go find me rejuvenating potion.**

_Some people would like to sit,_

_Within the sound of a church bell._

_But I'd rather run a rescue shop,_

_Within a yard of Hell…_

_-Words from "Mortification"_

Chapter Thirteen: Always Facing Death, Nevertheless 

Moran felt the healing potion burning through her throat, creating that sticky-sweet, burning bitterness that she had come to known. The realization of dying brought her panic and she clutched at the arm that was holding her weak neck up.

"_Wraiths_??" Someone shouted. "Damn it, Ollan! Quick!"

She felt her head thud the ground as her rescuer left her. Shrill, demon-like cries filled the space along with shouts and yells belonging to humans. Something splattered on her face and she cried out.

Her vision finally started to clear and she felt new strength of revival flowing through her body. What she saw nearly sent her to shock.

She was in some sort of cave – no, a hole _inside _a cave. A hole with very steep sides that towered about twenty meters above her, and were running filthy water through the moist mud, and making pools of murkiness at the bottom. An old man wearing once used to be grand robes sat huddle up in the corner.

Kail and Ollan, both covered in blood and bruises, was crying out in fury as they battled the Wraiths. The blackened, skeleton remains that probably suffered from Ollan's fire aura laid crippled at her feet. 

"Stop! No, Kail! Ollan!" She screamed as Kail kicked up with his right foot at the last Wraith. The spikes on his leather boots cut through the soft flesh, dragging out its internal organs. Its heart splattered out on the mud, and it still kept its beating of life for a few minutes before it turned into a mass of unwanted flesh.

"Moran? Are you all right?" Kail ran up to her and grabbed her arms. "Those Wraiths – "

"You bastard!" She shoved him back as hard as she could and her wrists burned. "Why did you kill them?"

Kail stumbled, more from surprise rather than her strength. "What are you talking about?"

"Look!" She shoved her newly cut wrists at Kail's face. "I nearly killed myself trying to rescue you by asking those dead Wraiths to bring me to this – this – _forbidden hole of the damned_ or whatever you like to call it to bring your sorry assess out of this place and maybe even save our lives from this entire Diablo rubbish, and now look what you did!" Her voice started rising shrilly. She wiped the Wraith's blood on her face and gritted her teeth. "You and Ollan just got rid of our only transportation back to Lut Gholein. Thanks to both of you, I might as well sink my teeth through my wrists and kill myself. We're all going to die any way now!"

She stopped and brought her hands up to her face, sobbing into her palms. She was so tired…so tired of this entire mess. She was tired of armor, tired of the constant fighting, and tired of risking her life only to be killed afterwards. Her shoulders shook violently and her entire body trembled.

"Moran," Ollan said. "I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She dropped down on her knees.

"Here," Kial said, his voice strangely light and soft. He took her arm and started wrapping the loose folds of cloth on her wrist. 

She managed to control her sobs as Kail bandaged her other arm. She wiped her tears and took a deep breath. "Now what? And who's the man?"

"Long story, and I might tell it to you someday," Kail said, sitting down next to her. "Are the others coming?"

"Thorn and Nikan are coming," she placed her chin on her knees.

"Why did you risk your life to summon those Wraiths?" Ollan came and sat on her other side. 

"Because I'm your friend, damn it," Moran said into her knees. "And because I'm your friend. Is that so hard to understand? You'd probably do the same thing to Kail if he were falling off a cliff. Risk your life to save him even though he's a Necromancer."

"How are your wrists?"

"Fine, thank you. They send a greeting back," Moran kicked at the muddy water with her bare feet and swallowed the aftertaste of sarcasm. "You know what? Both of you can be jerks sometimes. Oh I forgotten…the male species are _always _jerks. Infact – "

She was rambling on, and she knew it. Kail probably didn't understand what she was talking about but she didn't care. She avoided Kail's eyes and toyed unenthusiastically at the water with her freeze spells, creating tiny ice cubes.

"Is there a way out of here?" She asked quietly. 

"No. The only way to get out of here is to break through the walls from the outside with the Horadric Staff, Duriel awakes, and then…"

Moran's eyelids drooped and she held out a hand to steady her sleepy body.

"Are you all right?" Kail asked.

"Just sleepy."

"Do you want to…" he gently took her shoulders and pulled her down, laying her head on his crossed legs. An arm slipped across her waist, providing the extra warmth she appreciated from his arms. For a moment, everything that she felt during that moment in time was frozen into the caverns of her brain. The cold, dirty water underneath her legs, the veins on Kail's arms that lay on her linen-clad waist, and the violence of losing hope.

"Thanks Kail…" she mumbled before sleep overcame her.

"Moran! Wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open and her body reacted almost as fast as her lids. She shoved herself off Kail's lap, a large boulder missing her head by inches. The ground trembled violently underneath her as a shower of gravel and rocks came from above the hole.

"Ollan, take her!" Kail shouted. "I'll stand clear for Duriel!"

She felt Ollan's large hand wrap around her arm and pulled her back, pushing her down against a wall and using his armor-clad body to make a defensive roof over her unprotected self. She cried out as hard gravel rained down and bounced off the metal.

"Ollan!" She cried out. "Don't, you'll get yourself killed!"

"I've managed this before," he grunted; sweat dripping off his eyes and lips. "I'll do it again."

Almost as fast as it came, the gravel and stones stop raining down from above them and Moran quickly scrambled out from under Ollan. "Are you all right?" She cried, grabbing his arm, shocked to discover that the metal on his gauntlets were dented and covered with tiny semi-circles holes that the pounding rocks left.

"Duriel is awakening," he gasped, clutching at her arm. "Moran, listen. You have to – "

Cold wind suddenly blew into the room, silencing everything. Moran wrapped her arms around her body and saw Nikan and Thorn, ready in war pose with Kail. Ollan grabbed her and stumbled towards the others. 

"Duriel's coming," Thorn said grimly.

"Give me a weapon," Moran said. "If you're going to fight, so am I!"

"Do your best," Nikan mumbled and handed her a dirk, glowing cold with blue. "It's all I've got with me."

As they waited there in the darkness, Moran felt pangs of icy wintriness shoot through her spines. It was almost too much for her to bear, and she started rasping.

"Oh my god…" she gasped. "Why am I so cold?"

No sooner than the words had escaped from her lips, Duriel came.

He was a more than a behemoth – more than a monster, a cross between a demon from a nightmare and a fiendish insect from the icy, decaying tombs. Six sharp legs and claws shot out from its large body and a head that resembled what a Loch Ness monster might look like opened its mouth and hissed a row of sharp, razor blade teeth. Underneath its legs, she noticed an aura that was very much like Ollan's aura – blue, with a resemblance of a snow flake inside it – but very, very large.

"Here!" Thorn shouted towards her and tossed her a vial of golden liquid. "When you can't move, drink it!"

With a final battle howl, the dance of war began.

Nikan was shrieking at the top of her lungs, throwing short spear after short spear of lightning at Duriel. Kail had managed to regain his sanity, as he stood with his legs apart, holding his war sword towards Duriel. Golden light flowed from the blade and oozed towards the demon, surrounding it in a curse that she could not decipher.

Moran jumped away as a long claw grazed for her and she held out the dirk to block it. It snapped off her hand and landed underneath the brute's stomach. She screamed and dodged another claw, only pausing for one precious second to release a jet of Inferno at the beast's flesh. She scampered away before the aura could reach her.

Ollan was a mixture of fierce grace and rage as he expertly weaved in and out of the dancing claws. With his sword, he had managed to slit away a long tendril of Duriel's vein. Red blood tinged with green glistened and sparkled as it shot from the tube and splashed over him.

Charged bolt! Moran released lightning at the spraying vein. The lightning contracted with the liquid, sending shoots of electricity over Duriel. It screamed and writhed as the coils of electric holiness mustered with its life water. 

But all they were doing was slowing down its attacking process. Duriel wasn't dying – he was just slowing down.

"Nikan!" Moran shouted, as sent bolts of icy shards towards Duriel. "Where is Duriel's most unprotected part?"

"His stomach, underneath!" Nikan shouted.

"Moran no!" Thorn yelled.

She jumped from the boulder she was standing on and landed on a strip of muddy water tinged with green blood. She landed on her bottom with one leg tucked underneath her and the other sticking out forward, mimicking the moves of a soccer player sliding. She slid underneath Duriel's body and reached for the dirk she had left.

_Cold overpowered her body._

She gasped, looking straight at the blue aura. It had woven its smoky blue tendrils around her legs, and they had turned white and blue from the frost.

Still gasping for as much air as she could before the aura could reach her lungs, she looked up and saw a scaly black stomach. Right in the center, a flap of loose flesh pulled away, revealing a beating monstrous green heart, covered by a thin film of slime, covered with trillions of miniature veins.

With a cry, she stood up, breaking the forming ice on her legs and ramming the dirk into the heart.

Slime shot over her and the aura beneath her feet went out like a candle's flame. Slime poured down on her as if she was standing underneath a waterfall. She quickly shut her mouth and nose before any of it can make its way down her throat and searched for a way to escape through the bladed claws. She walked towards the right and slipped hard.

There was too much slime and blood! Air was running out of her – she needed to breathe or she'll pass out and drown right there in Duriel's holy blood.

"Moran, quick!" Thorn's hand poked through the falling slime. She took it and he slid her out. She took a breath of clean, clean air as he pulled her away from Duriel's dying body.

"Stay close now," he said as held her. "Stone's falling."

For a second time, gravel and rocks poured down, but now from a different side of cave. Duriel gave one last raging cry and his body split apart, releasing a thousand maggots onto the cave floor.

And everything turned silent.

"Is everyone all right?" Nikan broke the chilly air with her voice. "Moran?"

"I think I need a shower," she said quietly.

For another moment, they were all silent again.

Then Kail gave a very, very short and quiet laugh. Ollan gave off a brief giggle and Thorn started guffawing. For nearly a whole minute, they just stood there laughing and rejoicing with each other, triumphant over Death.

"Look," Nikan said. "Duriel had left us something."

"A staff!" Moran said. 

"A staff all right," Kail picked it up and it flashed in the dim light. It was the most beautiful staff she had ever seen; yet it carried an air of dangerousness about it. It was a long, straight staff. Just at her height. At one end, a glowing globe of some green stone glittered and stormed as it nestled against the curved claw of some animal. At the other end, a sharp blade adorned with jewels flashed maliciously. 

"You killed Duriel, Moran, you get it," Kail said. "You came in here to try and save Ollan and my life. You deserve it."

Moran nodded, speechless as he handed the weapon to her. It tingled in her hands.

"Cain can found out more about it for sure," he smiled.

"Let's go," Thorn pointed towards the entrance at the other side of the cave. "Tyrael awaits us." 

Like a funeral march, with the sounds of their boots splashing the water as their Requiem, they made their way up towards the glowing red doorway.

"This was where Tal Rasha was kept imprisoned," Nikan said. "But Diablo…"

Moran bit her lip as she looked, stiffening a gasp. A rising platform surrounded on three sides by bolts of molten lava and a bridge at one end…had something chained to it.

"Tyrael, the Archangel," Kail said.

It couldn't have been a man – he was too tall. It was a man's body though, clad in full golden armor that glowed with a heavenly light. His…wings stretched full three meters to each side and were composed of thousands after thousands of wispy smokes. The longest smoky tentacles stretched forward and curled towards them.

"Tyrael!" Thorn and Kail dashed forwards with Ollan close at their heels. Once they made it through the bridge, Kail fell on his knees and held out the chains that bounded the Archangel. Thorn raised his axe above it and brought it down, breaking the chains on Tyrael's legs while Ollan did the ones on his arms.

"Kail, Ollan…Thorn," The Archangel said. "And yet again…I did expect you sooner."

"We had a little trouble with…Wraiths," Kail said. "Are you all right?"

"Is that Moran with you?" Tyrael said in his deep, inhuman voice. Moran stiffened.

"Come here," the Archangel commanded.

"Go," Nikan whispered. "And be polite."

Moran walked across the bridge and the rest of her friends parted their way to make room for her. Tyrael reached out with a hand and touched her head.

"We meet again Sorceress," he said, his smoky wings surrounding her. 

She could only nod.

"You all know what to do," Tyrael said. "I could not stop Diablo, even the second time."

A portal appeared in front of them.

"Go home, and travel to Kurast," he said. "I'll see you all very soon. Perhaps, this time, you may stop the Dark Wanderer before he reaches his brother. The Heavens smile upon all of you…"

Kail took her arm. "Come on…"

The stepped into the portal and slipped back into sunny Lut Gholein. It was dawn, and many of the townsfolk had left.

"How come, it still hurts me that Diablo had escaped…even when I knew it was coming?" Ollan whispered.

"That's because you're one big, emotional bastard," Thorn rubbed his knuckles on Ollan's head who received a snarl back.

"Let's all go get some rest before bidding farewell to the people here," Nikan said. "Tomorrow, we journey to Kurast."

"And tomorrow we face Death again," Moran whispered to herself.


	14. The Darkness of Death

Every Diablo related piece of information belongs to Blizzard. All I own are what is not said, or shown in Diablo II. Enough said.

Some of you have been asking me why it's taking so long for me to upload chapters. Well the thing is, I have a life. A life of a _student_ for that matter, which means end term exams, homework, reading difficult literature, and other things. I also have jobs.

I promise you all that I will finish this story, and they'll be a sequel tribute to the Expansion Set. And a website as well.

Chapter 14: The Darkness of Death

"Are you sure you want to leave right away?" Jehrhyn said from the head of gold-covered mahogany table. "I was planning on throwing a grand celebration for you all."

After they all got back, Jehrhyn had convinced them to at least stay with him for breakfast/dinner. He had a spare table dragged out from his quarters and a large white tent. He had his servants, or what was left of them, set it out in a shady part of the port, overlooking a few ships and the waves. Jehrhyn sat at the head of the table, Nikan and Moran at his left, Ollan and Thorn at his right, and Kail at the other end. Every few minutes or so, a serving boy would run up to the serving table next to them, depositing another delicacy. Within a few minutes, there was enough food to fill up Thorn for about four weeks.

"No thank you," Kail said firmly and sipped at his wine. "We're only going to stay here as to help your guards clean up the palace, and then leave right afterwards. Our greatest fear lies with The Dark Wanderer. We think he plans to reunite with his brother, Mephisto in the temples of Kurast. If the three gets together…there might not be a Lut Gholein for us to come visit."

"Well then…" Jehrhyn absentmindedly rolled his roasted pork around on his plate and scratched at his turban with his other hand. "I do wish…I could spend some extra time with you all."

"No," Kail said.

Moran was amazed. If she were in Kail's place, she would truly want to spend a few days in Lut Gholein, just lying around in the newly cleaned palace and maybe even a chance for a hot bath. But Kail had all the qualities of a leader, and he was not doing the best for them. He was doing the best for their mission.

"All right," Jehrhyn sighed. "I guess, make the best of your last meal in Lut Gholein. I'll see to Meshif to prepare his ship."

They ate in silent, more from tiredness rather than grimness. Thorn shoveled mouthful after mouthful of meat, but Kail kept on toying with his food. Moran leaned over as soon as she saw Jehrhyn starting to make polite conversation with Thorn and Nikan.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" He looked up. "No. I was just thinking about what you…did."

Looking around, she cautiously slid up a seat over so she was next to him. "Stop it, Kail. You didn't know better."

"You were so mad."

"That's because I wasn't thinking right," she grinned. "Did you know that the average human brain works in strange ways when one loses their cool?"

"And how you slid underneath Duriel…" he shook his head. "I should've done that, not you."

She gave him a playful punch. "Shut up. I did it because you were busy keeping the dude from hurting the rest of us."

"Dude?"

"Duriel," she grinned again. 

He finally smiled back. "And you slept on my lap."

She felt heat rising up her face. "I wasn't _thinking_."

"Sure you weren't," he smiled.

She wanted to smack that satisfied grin off his face. Scowling, she returned to her seat and stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth. 

At least she cheered him up.

She took a long drink from the wine, only to spurt it out all over Thorn who sat blinking, red liquid dripping off his face.

"I said, normal wine! Not pepper wine!" She shouted. "Who the heck?"

She looked around and saw Kail leaning back on his seat, the guilty look all over his face.

"Aaaargh!" She leapt on the table, skidding dishes out of the way, and crashing him into the floor. "You little – "

They wrestled there for a long time, amid laughter and worried cries from the servant, picking up dishes and food away on the disheveled table. With a shriek, Moran grabbed the nearest bucket of seawater filled to the brim with fish and tried to dump it on Kail. Instead, she ended up slopping a lot of water all over them, even landing a fish on Jehrhyn's turban. Thorn started guffawing. 

"Stop!" He roared, but for once, no one paid attention to him.

Thorn was next to join in, picking up a large bowl of wine and tossing it over them.

"Damn it – you!" Kail shot up and leapt over the Barbarian, knocking him down into the ground.

Jehrhyn groaned, and at then end, everyone joined in on the fight, throwing pail after pail of salt water and wine over each other.

For once…the war between Hell and the World did not seem to matter.

"Moran? We'll be leaving in a few minutes," Moran heard Nikan knock on her door. "Are you packed up yet?"

"Give me…a few minutes," she said as she stuffed in pants, shirts, and two pairs of spare boots into a big leather satchel. She groaned, and sat down on her bed. 

"Well, come down when you're ready."

"Yeah…thanks for telling me," she shouted and picked up a damaged dirk. Rolling her eyes, she tossed it underneath the bed where it joined several other useless pieces of weapons and armor.

"That's not very considerate."

"KAIL!" She gasped, and tripped as she saw him standing in the darkness corner of her room. "When did you come in?"

He smiled and brushed back a strand of white hair from his eyes. "I just wanted to see how long it would take for you to sense there's someone else in this room."

"Well, how was I suppose to know when I have this _little_ mountain of things to pack, and only a few minutes to do it?" She backed away from him. "And what are you doing in my room?"

"Don't give yourself too much credit," his eyes twinkled mischievously. "Your staff. I had Cain indentify it for you."

He handed the glittering staff that Duriel had dropped the night before and placed it in her hands. It was lighter than she expected, but it felt secure and very dangerous in her hands. The crystal orb glittered and shimmered while the blade flashed.

"Beautiful things can be dangerous as well," Kail sat down on her bed and folded his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling, crossing his legs over her quilts. "I think I'll leave it to you to figure out all the different properties it has."

"Sorceress homework, huh?" She said, putting the staff down and stuffed in a tome of town portal into her shoulder bag. "Hand me my gloves, will you?"

He handed her the cracked leather gloves and she hastily slid it inside her bags as well. 

"Here, let me help," Kail said, reaching for the stacks of books. "What's all this?"

"Oh," Moran grinned. "I was…ah…messing around in the palace the other day when we were cleaning it out and I happened to find the library. Jehryhn said I could take as many books as I want to."

"You like to read?" He dropped the stack into an empty sack. 

"Don't you?" She placed the end of a quill into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully as she looked around her room for more articles to pack.

"Used to, a lot," Kail reached for the pile of clothes. "When I was studying Necromancy. A truly fascinating subject."

"Is that all you did?" Moran stretched as she shut her bag and pulled the strap tight. "Study how to reanimate dead people?"

"No…" Kail said slowly. "I did other…things as well."

"What?"

"Never mind," Kail sighed. "Is that all you need to pack?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said, searching underneath the bed for something she had overlooked. Hoisting the bag over her shoulder, the two sacks in her right hand, and her staff in the other, she followed Kail out into the sunny streets.

After a few farewells and a teary goodbye from Atma, they all hurried for the port where Meshif was hysterically trying to shove them all up on deck.

"Come on now," he said, giving Moran a rough shove up. "The wind won't wait for us."

"I bet," Moran grumbled as she caught herself before she fell over a barrel of water. She threw her things down and breathed in the salty air.

"Good bye, Lut Gholein," she whispered as the ship moved forwards. 

"Wake up, Moran."

Moaning, she pushed back the heavy quilts around her and felt herself sweating. Never had she ever felt humid in her life except for a trip to a jungle somewhere in Thailand. Nikan looked at her with a lantern in her hand.

"Come on, we're approaching the skirts of Kurast," she said. 

"What time is it?"

"Midnight?" Nikan shrugged. "Get dress and come up."

Yawning, Moran pulled a black cloak over the thin linen nightdress she wore and tied her mussed up hair into a knot. She trudged up the stairs and pushed herself up on deck. The rest of her friends were all on the starboard, looking out.

It was definitely a tropical place, full of mangroves, coconut trees, and banana trees. She couldn't tell from the poor light of the ship's lanterns but it seems like the water were murky and blackened. A terrible stench rose from it. A stench that reminded her of something very familiar.

"Kail," she whispered to his bare back as he looked on. "What's wrong with the water?"

"Tainted with demon blood," he said. "Don't try to breathe in too much of it."

Moran covered her nose and mouth with one hand as she looked on. Far away, she noticed spots of lights.

"Getting close," Meshif said. "And I don't want to stop until we reach the docks."

Shivering from the intense heat and humidity, and still very drowsy from her sleep, Moran sat down on an empty barrel.

"Shh…" Kail said. "Do you hear something?"

"Something's moving in the water," Nikan said. "Moran, hand me that knife."

Moran looked and found a small knife used for scaling fish next to her. She tossed it to Nikan who caught it smartly in the air. Quietly, she leaned over the edge of the starboard. Her muscles clenched and she threw the knife down.

With a shriek, she fell back. Moran.

A long necked creature that looked very much what a Loch Ness Monster should look like rose from the water, its skin a pale gray with dark carbuncles of blood over its skin. Hundreds of sharp teeth sprouted from its mouth and it hissed at Nikan.

"Quick, move, move, move!!" Ollan shouted, reaching for the sails.

"We can't!" Meshif said. "Any faster than this and we'll crash!"

"Do you want to die?" He shouted. 

Allowing hers body to be frozen in horror only for a second, Moran reached for a solitary spear and ran up to the creature who was attempting to bit the ship into pieces. It had succeeded in pulling off an entire wooden plank off the starboard ship. A few minutes and it could demolish the entire ship. 

Thorn, Kail, and Nikan were vainly trying to push it away as the ship moved but the monstrous creature looked like it could move faster and maneuver better than the large ship. It hissed angrily and spat out a long string of green slime. Shouting, Kail managed to dodge it in time but some of it splattered on Moran's arm. Pain shot up through her veins.

"Moran, get out of the way!" Kail shouted angrily pushing her away. "Do you want to get killed?"

Ignoring the stabbing pains in her arm, she pushed past him and ran to the creature with her spear. She rammed it up but the weapon bounced off its thick skin and disappeared in the water with a splash.

"The skin's too thick," she cried, pushing passed Thorn. 

"We noticed, we noticed!" He bellowed. "Try to get its mouth, it's the softest part!"

"Thorn, get her out of here!" Kail shouted. "She's going to get herself killed!"

"Killed, huh?" She gritted her teeth and jerked the dirk out from his hands. She ran up to the starboard and pushed herself up at the beast.

"Moran, no!" Kailed screamed. "Don't!"

She grabbed the brute around its head and locked her legs firmly around the neck. The beast, not noticing her, continued to snap and hiss at the others. 

Keeping her balance, she wrapped an arm beneath its neck and drove the dirk into the side of its mouth. She pulled it underneath the gum and slit it outwards, dislocating the jaw away from its head. Blood splattered over her and on the ship.

The beast screamed in pain and fury, spewing green blood every. Moran was thrown from the impact and landed in the water.

The taste of old copper and salty bile filled her mouth. She chocked on the water and swam towards the ship. The beast had backed away and was screaming in pain. 

"Moran, you stupid girl!" Kail screeched at her and dove into the water with a rope in his hands. 

She felt something wrap around her leg. She had felt something like this once, at a Japanese restaurant. It must have been an octopus tentacle.

But this one was much larger. Much more powerful. Much more dangerous.

And much more painful.

Had more power.

"Kail! Help!" She screamed as the tentacle dragged her down into the depths of the bloody water. She forgotten to take a breath and ended up swallowing the water. Choking, she felt someone grab her hand and pull her up, but the tentacle refused to let her go.

Panic washed over her. "KAIL!" She shouted the moment she had enough air in her lungs.

Struggling, Kail tried to wrap the rope around her body. "I've got you," he said. "Calm down – NO!"

Her hand slipped from hers and the tentacle gave her a long jerk.

She was being dragged into the water, into the very bloody darkness of her own death.

"Aaah!"

It was dragging her down! She couldn't breathe! The water – it was smothering her!!

Screaming, she shoved the tentacle away from her leg and opened her eyes.

The bloody water disappeared, the tentacles disappeared, and all that was left was a dark bamboo hut, lit with a single burning lamp. She was lying on a thin mattress with a rough, but light blanket over her. Five low burning citronella candles in bamboo candles sat to her right, its aromatic smoke keeping the mosquitoes at bay.

Moran rubbed her eyes and stretched. Lightning flashed through the small cracks of the hut and the loud, ear-splitting thunder made her flinch. It was going to rain any minute now.

She stood up and winced, and noticed a large bandage around her right leg. Ignoring the screaming protests from her sore muscles, she flexed her muscles and arms, thankful that everything was still in working order even though they were sore. She found a cloak among her things that were stashed into a large chest and wrapped it around her shoulders. 

She pushed open the bamboo door and blinked.

She was surrounded by murky water in all three sides, and she realized the hut she was in was actually a small house on stilts. A cracked and overused longboat floated by itself in front of her. 

Edging away from the cracked bamboo, she circled the house and found a bridge – a pathway on stilts that is – that led to other parts.

"Kurast, huh?" She wrapped her cloak around her shoulders as a strong wind blew hard. Lightning flashed and she hurried over the bamboo. After walking for about five minutes and passing other stilt houses and avoiding holes in the bamboo, she came upon a large stone platform that rose triumphantly over the water. 

"Hey there!" She shouted as she noticed the rest of her companions. Kail, Thorn, Nikan, Ollan, and Cain seemed to be all in deep conversation with a tall man whose head was shaven and carried a tall staff. Kail lifted up his head and she froze.

The way he glared at her was worst than when he glared at demons.

"Kail…" she said. "What is it?"

He walked swiftly up to her and slapped her hard on the face.

Gasping she fell on her knees. The blow wasn't hard enough to break her skin but it stunned her and left a painful sting on the side of her cheek.

"What the hell is up with you?!" She cried, scrambling up.

Kail slapped her again, harder, on the other cheek.

"Kail, stop it!" Ollan grabbed the Necromancer's arm. "What are you doing?"

He shook Ollan off and grabbed her shoulders. Moran struggled to get away but his grip was too strong.

"When I tell you to get away from a fight you listen to me!" He yelled. "You nearly got yourself killed!"

Anger bubbled inside her, and she finally twisted away. She faced him, gritting her teeth and feeling the blood rush up her face. "And what do you expect me to do!!" She screamed hard in his face. "_Sit around and just watch the show_??"

He pointed a finger hard into face, his face red in anger and his green eyes blazing as if they were on fire. "When I tell you what to do, you do it! It's for your own good!"

"I just saved your lives out there and this is all I get? A SLAP IN THE FACE?" She shouted back.

"Stop it!" Cain said. "Both of you!"

Ignoring him, Kail grabbed both of her wrists in one hand. 

"Kail, what are you doing?" She gasped. 

He uttered a bone spell and a pair of cartilage clamped over her wrists and legs, like handcuffs. Shrieking, she fell down on her side and struggled to get up, and found out she can't.

"KAIL, stop it!" Nikan said, covering her mouth with her hands. "This isn't – "

"Yes, it's going to do some good," the Necromancer said. He held something long and thin in his hands.

A leather switch.

"Kail, that's enough!" Thorn ran up to him and pulled the switch from his hands. "What do you think she is? A dog?"

"A disobedient child," Kail hissed but didn't protest as Thorn threw the switch into the water.

"And who are you?" Moran cried. "I'm not yours to boss around!!"

Hissing in madness, he walked away, clenching his hands.

"Oh my god, Moran…" Nikan bent down and broke the cartilage around her hands and legs. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, I feel so much better," she turned away and faced the water so the others wouldn't see the tears welling up from her eyes. 

She felt Thorn put his hand on her shoulder and the heavy weight made her feel comforted. But it made the dam in her throat break and she started sobbing. Thorn took her into his arms like a caring child and she sobbed hard into his leather jerkin.

"What did I do?" She sobbed.

"Eh, don't mind him," Thorn patted her back. "He was just plain worried about you. He's got a point there though, what you did was really dangerous."

"If I didn't do it, the ship…" talking was too hard and her throat hurt. 

"It's all right," Ollan patted her head. "Kail's like that…when he becomes really worried, he becomes angry."

"Why would he be angry?" She gently pushed herself away from Thorn and sat down next to the strange man with the staff.

"Because he didn't want you to be at risk," Cain said, wobbling slightly on his staff. "As a leader, he knew he should've been to one to climb upon the beast's head. The fact that you risked your own life to climb upon its head and slit its mouth made him feel like he was killing you with his own hands."

The pounding in her heart slowed down to a painful pace, and she covered her face with her hands. "Why?" She whispered.

"Because of the inner feelings in the human heart, are different from those of the demons," the strange man next to her said.

"What?"

"Young Sorceress, I am Ormus," the man sad. "Welcome to Kurast."


	15. Diablo's Mark

** Usual copyright disclaimer goes here.**

** Yeeeeesss! It's almost summer time, baby cakes! 12 more days of school excluding exam days and I'll be lounging around on my computer and desk, plaguing myself with Diablo II Expansion, writing this fic, and drawing my hand off. I'll probably take off a few weeks to go to my Uncle's rice mill and plague myself with all the nature. Oh happy days…**

** Enjoy this chapter, enjoy Kurast's setting that I've imagined to be exactly like the jungles of Thailand and er…the floating market in Bangkok as well. If you feel like a chat, you can always e-mail me at watercentaur@mail.com or homeworkonfire@hotmail.com. Cheers, and goodbye!**

Chapter 15: Diablo's Mark 

Kail refused to speak to her all through breakfast.

Even as she knocked his wooden wine cup down as she took a spoonful of steaming rice from an iron bowl, he calmly swept the red liquid away and resumed eating. She tried to make a soft conversation with him as the others were engaged in their own activities but he ignored every word she said.

She finally gave up and decided to listen to the others, whom were all crowded around a low wooden table, lying down on cushions and blankets. Another citronella candle was burned to rid of mosquitoes.

"Moran, have you met Asheera yet?" Thorn asked.

"No," she politely looked at the other woman across the table. She – Asheera - was a very tall woman, almost Kail's height with very beautiful eyes that were slanted at the edges. From the way she talked to the large python that curled around her bare neck and shoulders, Asheera carried a sexual aura and it seemed like Thorn was very attracted to it.

"Asheera," the woman lifted her cup. "Head of the Iron Wolves."

"Moran," Moran lifted her cup in return. 

"Natalya," Thorn said, pointing with his head to another girl with a short bob cut and wearing armor. "Assassin."

She smiled grimly. "Hey."

"Welcome to Kurast, Sorceress," Natalya said. "I heard about your heroic feat with the sea worm."

Kail pushed himself up, knocking down his empty plate. He picked it up and looked around. "Anyone want a tour of Kurast?"

"Kail, it's raining out," Nikan said. 

He looked around until his eyes nested on Moran. "Even better. It's just a drizzle." A smile curled on his lips and she felt a chill go up her back.

_His eyes aren't smiling._

She looked away and reached for the heavy cloak behind her. She wrapped it around her shoulders and stood up.

"Why not," she finally returned his gaze, giving him an icy grin as well. "It thrills me that you'll even step in the same boat as I."

"Moran," Ollan gave her a warning tone as he said her name.

"Why not," Kail hissed at her as they walked out of the dining hall.

The rain was becoming worst by the minute.

Moran huddled deep into her cloak and pressed closer to the others for warmth. Kail, with his shirt off and his long hair askew in the wind, was struggling to push the boat through the water. The others held close together and carried weapons in case of any surprise attacks as they sailed through the river.

"Can't see a blasted thing Kail," Thorn shouted through the wind. "Maybe we should go back."

"What do you think I'm trying to do," Kail gritted his teeth, veins appearing on his arms and chest as the muscles struggled to push the stick through the mud and move the boat.

"Here, let me try," Thorn stood up and the boat rocked, nearly sending Kail off balance.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Nikan mumbled.

Thorn shoved at the stick hard. "I think it's stuck. Lovely Kurast river mud."

He pushed harder and the stick broke in two. 

"Damn it!" He said. "What now?"

"We go get another stick," Kail said, removing his boots.

"Wait! But isn't it dangerous to go in the jungle?" Moran stood up. 

"No, we're still close to town," he hissed at her. 

"Kail, it's still – "

"I'll be fine," he said. "And the water's not tainted badly." He dove into water with a small dagger.

"Kail – "

"He'll be fine," Thorn rested a hand on her shoulder.

"No – " She blinked against the wind and the rain. "We can't just let him go alone – " She saw the dark figure rise up on the other bank and disappeared into the jungle.

"Leave him," Nikan huddled deeper into her cloak and rested down. "I'm going to sleep if you two don't mind. He'll be back any second and I'm tired."

"In the rain?" Moran asked.

"I've had worst," Nikan grinned.

Tired as well, Moran shut her eyes.

She woke up what felt like hours later, soaked to the bone and very cold. "Where's Kail?" She asked.

Fear rippled through her.

Ollan, Nikan, and Thorn were all asleep at the bottom of the boat, very calm and still, almost corpselike. A vine of some sort had curled around their limbs, pining them down.

"Oh no…" She gasped and looked at her own legs. Luckily, they had only formed around her ankles and no where else. She pulled out a knife and slit at one of the green shoots. 

Three new vines sprouted from the cut and wrapped around her fingers.

She jerked them away while they were still young and looked at the others. "Nikan! Ollan! Wake up!" 

No response.

She tried wrapping her hands around the shoots and releasing fire upon it, but at the rate of the rain and wind, it wasn't going to work. If she put any more firepower into the shoots, she was going to burn off a limb or two.

She needed to find Kail.

She shut her eyes and wrapped her hand around her knees. Her head throbbed.

_Kail. Kail. Kail._

Shock rippled through her body and blackness overcame her.

The darkness blinked out in less than a second and she found herself standing in the jungle. Something crashed into her and she was hurled onto the forest floor with the cloaked figure.

"What the – "

The cloaked figure stood up, and she saw nothing but blackness inside his hood. "You shall not catch up with me, Warrior," it hissed. "The Dark Wanderer is always too fast for you."

The black figure suddenly exploded into a cylinder of light.

"AHHHHHH!" She screamed.

Some sort of a creature, a cross between a dog and an iguana, flesh colored with razor sharp teeth burst from the light and landed on her legs. Screaming, she kicked it away, only to find two more coming towards her.

Spinning to her feet, she shot a ball of fire at the nearest one, sending it flying five feet into the air. She kicked the one gnawing at her legs, breaking its back.

But the third one leapt for her throat and held on tight with its long, sharp fingers. She felt the nails dig into her skin.

Coughing, she tried to fend it off, but it was too tough for her. Too strong.

"Aaah!"

The beast on her neck screamed and dropped away. Moran stumbled forward and someone caught her.

"Kail?" She said in between coughs.

"How on earth did you get here?" He gasped. "Are you all right?"

"I – I was on the boat – then I found myself – "

His eyes widened. "You _teleported_."

"What?" 

"You moved from one place instantly to another!" He threw his hands into the air. "Moranah – I mean…"

"I don't know how I did it," she said. "But the others are in deep trouble. Vines – we were sleeping, and when I woke up they were covered in vines! It's holding them down or something, and they won't wake up."

"Poison vine," Kail said. He suddenly lurched forward and grabbed his chest.

"Kail!"

"I'm all right," he panted.

"No, let me see," she forced his hand away and found an oozing, fresh wound under his collarbone. "What happened?"

"The Flesh Beast's tail got me," he pointed to the dead creature. "I'll be fine."

Stepping close to him, she placed her hand next to the wound, feeling the warmth of his skin. Shame and mixed feelings ran through her. "You had to hurt yourself so many times because me."

"And you hurt yourself in order to save our worthless lives as well," he smiled and took her hand, planting a small kiss on her fingers. "I guess it's only fair. Thank you."

She didn't dare look at him. "Kail…" 

He took her chin and forced her too look at him. "I'm sorry I acted the way I did this morning."

_Plonk_.

"OW!" She grabbed her head and looked up. Something blue and gold whizzed by her again, squawking loudly.

"Stand back, Moran," Kail scooped up a large rock in his hand. The blue-gold creature gave off another squawk and dove towards him.

Kail reared back and threw the stone hard.

The creature dropped like a stone from the air.

"What is it?" Moran stepped close and looked at the dead animal. It was some sort of bird – perfectly normal except for a set of razor blades in its mouth.

"Unique Hell Fowl," Kail said excitedly. "You have anything sharp?"

Moran felt around her body and came up with a small dagger. "This is all I've got."

"It'll do," he jammed it hard into the fowl's stomach and split it open. Red blood tinged with green oozed from inside its guts and Kail reached in.

"Oh, disgusting," Moran said, but kept her eyes on his hand.

"The price you pay – for this," he pulled out something green.

It was a rough jade statue, nothing more.

"What the – "

"Don't ask," he grinned at her. "Come on – don't the others need us?"

Fear rippled through her, as she thought of her friends, all tangled up in the boat.

"Well?" 

Moran wrapped the blanket around her and tried to wipe her runny nose as Alkor, the alchemist, and Rhatli, the blacksmith, looked at Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan. She and Kail had dragged the three unconscious heroes in their boats back to the Kurast Docks. With some difficulty, and with the help of the others, they managed to free them from the vines, but an hour later, they didn't know what to do to make them lose the shade of green that was creeping from their lips and forehead and regain consciousness.

"It looks like a type of vine the Druids use in order to poison their enemies," Kail said from somewhere huddled in his blanket as well. He sneezed and sniffed. "Damn it."

"Here," Moran pushed the steaming mug of banana tea at him. 

"Know a lot about Druids, don't you?" Alkor said while searching through his pots of remedy and medicine.

Moran saw Kail stiffen from the corner of her eye. "I think you should focus more on the poison than what I know and what I don't know."

"Whatever you say," Alkor stooped down, stroking his gray beard. "Well…I don't know what to do."

"Can't you give them some antibiotics? I mean…ah, something to fight off the poison? Maybe when the poison's at a weak state, they'll regain consciousness."

"That's a good start," Rhatli said. "But it'll be better if we know the source of the poison vine."

"Why?" Moran asked.

"When a snake bites his victim, the cure is to inject the victim with the snake's poison," Kail said, sipping his banana tea. "You _have_ heard of that haven't you?"

"Sure," she shrugged. She's heard of it but she never knew how it really worked. "You know, when I ah…_teleported_ into the woods, I ran into this…this guy wearing this long black coat. He called himself the Dark Wanderer, and that's how those flesh beasts – "

Kail jumped from his blanket and grabbed her shoulders. "You saw _what_?"

She flinched. "I – "

Kail let her go and reached for his dry clothes. "Moran, get dressed. We're hunting down the culprit."

"What? You know who did this to the others?" She gestured to the unconscious group.

Kail stopped. "Yes. I do."

"Who?"

"Diablo. Diablo Himself."


	16. Flayer Poison

** Usual copyright statement goes here. You know what they are ****J Wish I was making money off this, but I ain't.**

** Good news! Now that summer is on, that means more chapters! No more waiting for two months for a chapter. But if you feel like you still need to give me a kick in the butt with the updates, I can give you two places to send it: watercentaur@mail.com OR **homeworkonfire@hotmail.com**.**

Chapter 16: Flayer Poison 

"Kail! Whoa, WHOA!" 

Moran skidded on the mossy bamboo bridge and grabbed on a fellow Kurastian to catch her balance. The woman gave her a look of utter loathing as she ran up to Kail. "Kail! What's going on? I don't understand – Diablo – "

"No time to loose," he said, turning to her. She took a step back in astonishment. His eyes were the angriest she had ever seen. The darkly lined slanted green eyes were blazing with fire and revelation. 

She was glad his anger wasn't aim at her.

"I'll explain as we go along," he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go get prepared. We're heading out for the Kurast jungles."

"And where are you going?"

"To get myself dressed as well," he looked out. "And to go talk to our resident Assassin, Natalya."

Moran slid her hands into the fingerless leather gauntlets, flexing her hands a few times to get rid of the tight feeling. She bent down and laced her short boots, tucking the edges of her black pants into the leather. 

Turning, she looked at herself in the full-length dusty mirror. She didn't remember the last time she had looked at herself clearly into a mirror, and what she saw surprised her.

Her hair had grown longer over the time she had been in this strange world, growing past her hips. Not only was it longer, but it was rather shaggy as well. She turned her body, looking at her naked torso. She had developed scars – quite more than she realized, and not all of them pretty or tough looking. The one on her arm from the Spear Cat's spear had grown into a rather frightening pattern of permanent stitches. There was a long white streak on the side of her neck and another one across her torso, starting from her left shoulder blade, down her chest, between her breasts, and to her stomach.

Even her facial expression had changed – she had acquired a more serious, older look. Like Kail, her brown eyes had a burning ember in them that was ready to burst into fire any moment she became angry.

_Was this how Moranah looked like_?

She dropped down on her bed, rubbing her forehead with her hands. Was she just a substitute for Kail, a substitute for the woman he once loved? 

_Stop it. You don't even love him_.

"AH!" She stood up and slammed her fist into the bamboo wall. A fist sized hole appeared and a thin stream of silver light flooded in, light from a rain-soaked sun.

She clutched at her head and hair, forcing down the sob that was trying to flee from her tight throat. She was in pure torture. 

"Moran?" 

She gasped and stuck out her foot to block anyone from opening the door. "What?" Her voice cracked.

"Moran, are you all right?" It was Kail. She felt pressure as he tried to open the door. "What's with the wall?"

"N-Nothing," she said. "Don't come in, I'm not dressed."

"What's taking you so long?" He said. "Come on."

She reached for the thin, but protective shirt that kept her skin from chaffing from the armor. "Yeah." She slid into the breastplate and reached for her staff, the new one that she had found in Tal Rasha's chamber. 

She threw open the door, panting from her rush. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Don't be in _too_ much of a haste," Kail said. "Turn around. Going into battle with your armor not put on correctly is nearly as dangerous as going in unprotected."

"Oh," she turned and pulled her braid out in front. 

She felt his fingers brush the back of her neck slightly and shivered from his calluses. She felt him lacing the tough laces at the back of the breastplate, securing the piece of armor to her skin. 

"Done," he gave her neck a reassuring squeeze. 

She stepped forward in surprise. "Ah…thank you."

She kept her face down the entire time as they walked out to the bridge that led out to the jungle.

"Wait here," Kail said. "Natalya's coming."

Moran looked out into the murky water. "Kail…"

"What?" He looked distracted as he looked out to the dark jungles.

"Uh…what is it about the figure in the cloak – the Dark Wanderer, did you say?"

He faced her, his eyes steady and focused again. "The man you met in the jungle was Diablo, traveling to the ancient temples of Kurast where he will reunite with his brother – Mephisto. If we manage to kill Diablo in time before he reaches Mephisto – it'll save us a damn lot of trouble."

"But the time we've wasted! Diablo's probably with his brother by now – "

"No," Kail said. "Diablo – or should we say the Dark Wanderer, is still very weak. He's transforming from his humanoid form to monster – yet for it to be completed, he must reunite with his three brothers, Mephisto and Baal."

"And if we're late?" Moran rubbed her arms.

"If we don't kill Diablo…I reckon we have to travel to the Sanctuary between Earth, Heaven, and Hell and kill him there. It's not beautiful there, that's all I'm telling you. And to kill Diablo in his true form – "

He stopped. "Natayla," he said in form greeting.

Moran's eyes widen. The Assassin was dressed in the strangest armor she had ever seen in her time in this world. It covered her from her neck down to the very tips of her toes, and looked as if – as if the armor was made entirely out of _moving mercury_. It moved like fluid, and looked like fluid. 

And if Natalya was carrying any weapons, she did a very good of hiding it from view.

"Horses?" Moran could only say when she looked at the three magnificent creatures Natalya was holding. They too, were clad in the same silver, fluid-like armor around their large heads, chests, and knees.

"If we're going to catch Diablo fast and quick, we have to use these beasts," she said. "These are pure-bred war stallions, the finest in Kurast."

"I usually wouldn't bring these horses out for nothing less than a surprise siege directly on Kurast," Natalya said. "But under the circumstances…treat them well, and do your best to protect their lives."

Feeling almost guilty, Moran took the reins of the large black stallion Natalya handed to her. Kail took the white one, and Natalya mounted her own silver dappled equine.

"You must know," the Assassin said. "I'm not coming you after you leave Kurast. For that you must pay a price greater than your life."

"I know," Kail said. "I understand. I only ask for you to come with us because the townsfolk of Kurast needs you too find the Blade of the Old Religion…under the circumstances, Moran and I can't do it. We're grateful that you're even coming with us for a short way to fight."

"Blade of the Old Religion?" Moran whispered to Kail.

"Later," he said, keeping his eyes on Natalya with a respectful gaze. "You're free to leave anytime, Head Assassin."

"I'll leave when I know I can," she gave her horse a slight nudge with her heels. "I'll lead the way."

"Lag behind a bit," Kail said as Moran's horse broke into a fast trot. She sank back on her bottom and the horse slowed down. 

"So what's this?" Was all she could as him.

"Weapons out, just in case," he warned.

"I can't exactly fight on horseback with a staff," she hissed back. "I'm already having trouble holding this thing when I'm riding – "

Silently, Kail took her staff from her hands and strapped it to the saddle faster than she could even jerk her weapon back. "It'll come free with a slight pull," he said.

"And these horses are trained to respond to your heels," he said. "So your hands are free to use for fighting."

"Kail, tell me. What's all this?"

"I'll start from the beginning," he said. "You noticed how the Kurast Docks are unaffected by the surrounding demons and creatures? You notice how not even a Flayer can even blow a dart into the homes of the people?"

Moran shrugged. "Don't the Iron Wolves keep them at bay?"

"No," he said. "Ormus and Rhatli's been working on an enchantment that keeps the demons away, but lately, it's been fading away…fading away to a point that if it becomes any thinner, the demons are going to be able to sneak in when we're not looking."

"There's a blade in forest, a Ghidbin, they call it," Kail said, walking his horse around a pit. "It's an ancient blade, and according Rhatli and Ormus, it will be able to build up a permanent protective shield around the Kurast Docks."

"With the others sick and…dying," Kail continued. "We don't have time to get it, but Kurast needs us. Since Natalya's a residential Kurastian, I asked her to come along with us to get the blade – well, mainly we need her help to fight, but she's an Assassin. And like an Assassin, she doesn't kill without a price, and she doesn't help with a price. But with Kurast needing the Ghidbin, and we having no time to spare to get it – she needs to come without a choice."

"She seems so – " Moran looked at Natalya on her a horse, about a hundred feet away.

"Assassins are like that," Kail said. "If they weren't so secretive in their order or keeping to themselves, Natalya would be welcomed to join the Five to defeat Diablo."

"Have you asked her to join us?"

"Even Tyrael himself wouldn't ask an Assassin a favor like that," Kail said. "Natalya has a good heart – but like most Assassins, they make their own choices on what they want to do and what they don't."

"And is her fighting – "

She had no time to finish her sentence. The stallion beneath her bolted and she nearly lost her balance. After catching herself and balancing, she looked behind her shoulder.

A dozen of the strangest creatures she had ever seen were chasing after them – and they were fast. Looking like a cross between a Gila monster, a jackal, and a frog the size of a horse – no wonder the horses bolted. 

"They're gaining, Kail!" She shouted. "Ah – "

She managed to duck in time as one of the animals leapt for her. It sailed over her horse's head and landed in front of them, hissing madly.

Natalya was coming towards them, bending over her horse to defend against the wind. She kicked away her stirrups and rolled, standing up on her feet. The beasts surrounded her.

"Natalya!" Moran shouted and reached for her staff. She felt Kail's hand on hers before she could wrap her finger around the shaft.

"She can do it," Kail said.

Natalya reared back with a battle cry, and gave a large hook kick towards the nearest creature that any black belt ninjitsu practitioner would be embarrass to compare his best techniques with. But what enthralled her was that the kick exploded into shards of sharp embers that pierced and nearly killed the creatures.

A purplish-blue light illuminated her right hand, forming a shape of a dozen sharp daggers in which she threw in one swift throw, pining the beasts down. There was only one left standing.

"That's a boss," Kail said.

Natalya circled in the beast, never leaving her eyes off it. The boss creature, too, gave her all its attention. Slime dripped from its fangs that hissed and spurted fire once it touched the mossy ground. 

Natalya crossed her hands in front of her face, clenching her fists. A blue light illuminated her fingers, forming the shapes of deadly claws. The blue light winked away, and what was left on her hands was a pair of sharp, glistening wrist blades.

Moran gasped as fire emitted from the wrist blades as it came in contact with the creature's skin. A glistening ball of fire appeared, circling the Assassin like a protective guardian.

Another strike! Another fireball! Another one!

Moran gasped as fire filled her vision and inferno exploded from the Assassin's blades. The beast recoiled once, and fell dead to the ground, burnt and blackened.

"Yowza!" Was all she could manage to gasp from her tight throat to Kail. "Are you _sure_ she won't join us?"

"Come on, we're losing time," Natalya clenched her fists together and the blades melted into her liquid armor. She mounted her horse with one swift vault. "Quick. Even I can sense that Diablo is nearing his brother."

"Faster!"

"You're going to kill the horses if we go any faster!" Moran shouted in between pants as she bent down close to the shiny black neck of the horse. She regretted wearing her fingerless gloves as she felt the blisters on her fingers from the reins. Sweat dribbled down her face.

"Natalya, I'm sure we still have time – "

"No we don't," the Assassin slowed her horse down to a trot and faced them. She slid off and landed on all fours. She touched the dirt and brought it to her nose.

"We're in the Flayers territory," she said. 

"How can you tell from the soil?" Moran asked.

"Any ground in which Flayers breed and lives smells of blood," Natalya said, standing up. "This is where I'll leave you, Heroes. You don't need me to go with you. I'll cast a cloak of shadow over both of you which will last for over an hour."

Kail nodded. 

Natayla raised her hand high above her head to cast her spell.

"AH!" She cried in pain and clutched her wrist. "Damn it!"

A small dart from a blowpipe had shot through her hand.

"No!" Moran cried, her horse rearing as a flock of Flayers surrounded her and her horse. 

"Moran, hang on!" Kail sounded so scared she felt panic rise up to its full limit in her heart. The ground fell down below her as the horse she rode reared to its fullest extent. She held on for a fleeting second, and then when the horse stumbled backwards, she lost her stirrups and struck the ground. 

The impact left her gasping for a breath of air, for what seem liked hours. As the smallest of oxygen managed to squeeze into her tight lungs, she leapt up before a Flayer could go for her head with its sharp little spear.

"Moran!" Kail shouted from his horse, but he was in no better situation. About a dozen Flayers had surrounded his horse as well, but he managed to stay on the saddle.

"Sorceress!" She heard Natayla shout. "Take this!"

From her uninjured hand, Natayla threw her something that flashed in the dim light that the jungle allowed to be filtered through. Moran caught it, and found it to be a small silver ball.

"Throw it! Throw it! Throw, throw, throw!"

Moran threw it at the Flayers, aiming for the fattest one. It struck the beast's little belly – 

And exploded in a net of lightning.

She threw her hands up to her face to protect it from the sparks that flew off the burned Flayers meat. Running half blinded, she found her horse and tore her staff from the saddle.

She fell on one knee just in time to hold the bladed part of her staff out to catch four Slayers running towards her. The blade on the bottom of her staff was so sharp that it split the little beasts right in two. 

"Ugh!" She cried out, fending off a Flayer that managed to crawl up her staff. She shot it off with a bolt of ice and it froze in mid air for a moment before she struck it down with a swing from her staff. 

There was too many of them! She cried out in pain as something lashed against her neck. She pulled out a blowpipe. In pure anger, she flung it away.

"I can't – do this – " She shouted.

Her vision blurred. A sharp, tingling pain ran from her neck up to her brain.

_The dart_. _Poison._

She used her staff to balance as she clutched her forehead with the other hand.

The Flayers had stopped attacking her and she saw one of them holding a thick coil of rope.

"Get away!" She half-heartedly swung her staff at it, but only succeeded in making herself lost the last ounce of balance she had. She fell on her hip, still trying to balance on her staff.

Black dots danced around her eyes. 

She fell on her cheek on the mossy ground, and her hand hit something hard. Using the last ounce of strength, she wrapped her hands around it and found it to be cold, sharp, and small, reminding her of a Swiss pocketknife. With extreme care in the state she was in, she slid whatever it was into her boot before her vision turned black and her head crashed on the leaves.

Moran raised her head and opened her eyes. She looked down.

And screamed.

She wasn't a person that was afraid of heights. It didn't bother at all. _Usually._

But being chained and suspended to a ceiling. that was dripping water on her about 50 feet above a black pit filled with razor sharp spikes that was ready to split into her stomach if she failed.

Her wrists and legs both had heavy iron cuffs on them, and two chains attached to each of the iron bands were firmly pounded and hammered onto the stone ceiling. And surrounding her was a cylinder of a stonewall, with big, burning torches. And down below her were her death, rows and rows of razor spikes. There was a door about twenty feet below her with a small platform jutting out from it.

She twisted her wrists, trying to get the blood flowing again, but couldn't. Sweat dripped off her nose and she watched the crystal-like drops fall down to the spikes.

"Oh god, no!" She shouted as she felt her body lurch down and the chain around her left ankle snap like a thread. 


	17. Sacrificial Life

**It's amazing how it seems like your writer's block taken a vacation during the summer. Let me just say that I really enjoyed writing this chapter…I think Kail might had finally lost his bad feelings for Ollan…hmmm, Moran finds uses for an old skeleton…applied some gore here and there…and the Iron Wolves get to play a big part in the game. Enjoy! **

Chapter 17: Sacrificial of Life 

_Calm down, calm down_!! Her brain screamed endlessly as she tried to control her yells of terror. She was still hanging by three limbs from the ceiling, and what pain she had already felt was now a burning fire that ran down her legs. 

"Ugh," she said, blinking rapidly as her eyes started to cloud over from the blood pouring inside her head. She tried to raise her body but found out she can't.

_If I don't die from terror first, all this blood rushing through my head is going to kill me._

Grunting, she clenched her stomach muscles and tried to grab the chains. Her fingers brushed the cold metal before her body flipped back down. 

She felt something warm oozing from her nose. Blood, rushing from her head down her nostrils. 

Terror rushed over her again. If she didn't manage to get her body to stay upright again, she would die.

With a final heavy grunt, she managed to swing her body up and grabbed the chains. She was now in a rather freaky position, her one free leg hooked around her other leg and her hands grasping the chain. She resisted the urge to look down and tried to find a way out. 

She examined the chains and found them to be very old and rusty. Breakable, she thought. The ledge…her eyes wandered.

"It's now or never…" She yanked with her leg that was still in the cuff with all of her remaining strength. 

_Crack…_

_ Ring…_

Her leg was free. She gasped as her body slid downwards without her leg suspended. She swung, let go of the of the chains with both her hands – 

The remaining cuff on her arm broke free and she tumbled down.

"UGH!" She cried out in pain as she managed to grab the ledge just in time. The shock ran through her body, sending ripples of astonishing pain through her arms and legs. She swung her leg up and managed to climb up to her sanctuary.

She fell on her knees, panting, and clutching her heart.

_You mustn't break down now_.

She reached for the door's handle, grateful that it wasn't locked.

The door swung open.

She cried out, as her body was blast backwards. She tottered on the edge for a second – and fell down towards the darkness.

"NOO!"

Someone clutched her wrist and pulled her up again. She was whirled down on her knees with so much force she rolled to absorbed the impact. She stood up and swallowed down her scream. She clutched her throat and tried to force down nausea that was traveling up her hot, burning throat.

Whatever it was – towered above her about five feet above her head. It had a skull that resembled a human's – although much larger and had a pair of horns spurting from each side. Sinews, veins, and a bit of flesh clung to parts of the dirty skull. She could see its windpipe, a little more than cartilage and blood. A sunken, decaying chest with the protruding ribcage glowed dully at her. And down below that were the remains of the spine…and nothing else expect for frayed flesh and dripping, decaying blood.

Looking closer at the chest, and trying to control her stomach, she saw a small blue stone, like a cross between a sapphire and a black opal embedded in the remaining flesh. It glowed with its own fire and throbbed like a heart.

It opened its mouth. "Welcome to my temple, Sorceress."

"Who are you?" She stumbled backwards.

"Mephisto," it said.

"_You_?" Moran took another step back and she felt a jabbing pain in her one of her boots. She stopped.

It felt like a jagged blade.

"Your Necromancer lies in your same state, although he wasn't as smart as you to tried an escape," Mephisto took a floating step towards her. "He may be dead now for all I care."

"Where's Kail?" She bent down, pretending to clutch at her ankle. "If you – "

"If I what?" Mephisto looked down at her. "What if I…murdered him?"

"You and your brothers will go to Hell!" She slid her fingers inside and wrapped it around the hilt.

"You're too late, Sorceress," Mephisto said. "Diablo is no longer here."

She whipped the blade around and found it to be so small, so small it couldn't do much damage at all, but it was her only hope. With clenched muscles and as much force as she could, she surrounded the blade with lightning and flame from her elemental storage in her body and threw the blade.

It struck Mephisto deep in the chest, just above the embedded jewel. He gave a scream loud enough to shatter her eardrums as she ran into the black tunnel.

She didn't care where she went; she only wanted to be as far away as she could be from Mephisto.

"This place is a maze," Moran whispered to herself in the darkness, feeling the damp wall (damp with water or blood, right now she couldn't careless) for guidance in the dark. She was too afraid to cast her Shiver Armor upon herself, fearing that the light would bring in unwanted demons.

After about ten minutes of half-running, half-walking through the tunnels or hallways, she came upon an old, cracked and fading door. Summoning all of her courage, she opened it a creak and looked in. It was pretty empty except for three torches burning on the wall, a chest, and a mangled skeleton with blood on it hanging from the ceiling. After checking twice for anything hiding in the darkness, she slid in, shut the door, and bolted it.

Tired and weary, she slid down to the floor and hugged her knees, letting the tears fall. Kail was as good as dead, and the others back in Kurast…and how long was she going to last? This…temple, as Mephisto called it was worst than any labyrinth she could think of. And what will happen if she did find a way out? The Flayers and the jungle beasts would probably bring her down before she could even get anywhere. 

She lifted her head and walked over to the chest, pulling the rusty chain off and lifted the lid. She pulled out a cloak, worn and torned, worst than a rag, a few pieces of gold, and a crossbow. 

She picked up the crossbow and found it to be quite sturdy, the string having survived the wet surroundings. She slid her foot in the stirrup, grabbing on the base, and with all her strength, pulled the string back and slid it into the correct place. She held it up and pressed the trigger.

She gasped as her entire body was lurched backwards because of the impact. She clutched her shoulder in pain, but the awe left her nearly forgetting about her muscles. It was a powerful crossbow, probably could do more damage than even a shotgun would.

But what good is it without bolts?

Her eyes wandered to the skeleton.

With a cry of rage, mixed with the slow insanity that she thought was developing somewhere behind her cerebrum, she pulled the skeleton off its chains and hurled it to the floor with one rugged motion. Luckily, it was quite breakable. She pulled off the fetus and smashed it against the wall, releasing the small sharp spikes from the foot. 

She picked up the bits of bone, some of them longer than her index finger and the others a little more than her pinky. She kicked at the skeleton again, releasing sharp pieces, and sharpening some dull ones on the stone floor.

After she was sure she had enough crossbow bolts, she fashioned a small bag out of the cloak to hang from her belt.

"Better than nothing…" she fitted a cracked finger bone to the crossbow and kicked the door open.

"If this was another "dance of death", this would be in Latino mode," she grumbled inside her head as she slid on blood, running through an empty hallway. If she wanted to find Kail – she needed to be quick.

She felt every hair on her arms prickle and heat rushed through her head.

With a shriek, she pushed with her legs to send her body away from the place she was standing. She grunted as she rolled and came up on her knees. 

A flying rock blackened and covered with fire, like a minuscule meteor came tearing from the ceiling and landed right on the very spot she was standing a second ago. She covered her face as the stinging embers exploded from the rock and sprayed its flames over her. She was up on her feet faster than she could think and began looking for her intruder.

A hooded figure stood in the corner, holding a large staff.

For a moment, she thought it was a perfectly normal-looking man, until she saw that the hemline of the black cloak was floating more than a few inches off the ground, and there were no legs. 

"Die," she said, releasing the crossbow.

The bone bolt pierced…whatever it was right in the hand. It gave a scream loud enough to shatter her ears and raised its staff. 

The crossbow was taking her too long to load. Instead, she used it to bash against the staff as the creature tried to bring the head of its burnished staff down on her head. She stumbled backwards and it grazed her cheek excruciatingly. 

"What the – "

The moment that the staff touched her cheek, the bone bolt from her crossbow that had implanted in the creature's hand fell off and the wound sealed over the pale, sallow flesh.

It was stealing her life.

"Or no, you don't!" She gave the creature a hard kick right in its stomach and it floated backwards. She jumped and brought the crossbow down on its head, bashing it with the heavy wood and punching it hard in the stomach with her other hand. The creature dropped its staff and tried to grab her hands. Pulling a fist back, she rammed it into the head.

The creature dropped to the ground.

She clutched her fist and looked down at her knuckles. Even in the dim light she could see she had cut her knuckles badly, probably from the creature's teeth.

She bent down to pull the hood back and see what the creature really was.

She covered her mouth in panic as she dropped the cloak. There was nothing but cloak…and blood.

Burning, hot blood that hissed on her fingers like acid. 

She quickly spat on the blood, trying to neutralize it, and thankfully, it stopped. She didn't really want a pair of hands without any fingers. Not in this temple, not anywhere in this world.

After running through tunnels for about two minutes, she stopped to rest, breathing hard and loudly. She ran a bloody hand through her hair.

Telekinesis…

_The ability to move things with your mind_, _the ability to move yourself to another place…_

She stood up straight. Maybe if she…

She focused on Kail, his green eyes…his face that was usually burning with pain and anger, or both and at the same time she tried to keep an image of a stake through his heart of her mind.

"Please…"

She felt lightning crackle on her fingers. 

Static lightning and energy crackled and exploded around her and she felt every hair on her body rise. 

In an explosion of light, she found herself in an isolated room.

She covered her mouth and tried to force the nausea down her throat. It was the largest room she'd ever seen – even larger than Andariel's chamber. It was lit with torches on every wall, and right in the middle was dug out to form a large lake-like container, filled to the brim with blood and bones, with stairs leading down to it. A platform had been built of carcasses, corpses, and bones leading out to the middle of the blood pool to a portal-like structure of two black arches, although it was empty of light.

"Kail?" She whispered. Maybe her telekinetic powers weren't powerful enough yet – maybe it had led her to somewhere else where she didn't want to be…

Her eyes roamed the room and came to the arched ceiling. 

A pair of chains and handcuffs, rusted and broken hung from the dripping ceiling. 

Her eyes looked down to the pool of blood.

"Oh my god!" She kicked off her boots and stumbled down the stairs, trying not to slide on the blood. She splashed into the red essence of life and death itself and cried out in pain as she stepped on something sharp. She leapt back.

_This place is full of sharp objects…_

Fear rose in her throat as she thought of Kail. If he did manage to break his bonds but if he fell in this lake with all the sharp bones…

"No!" She waded out to the middle, avoiding the sharp, stinging pains on her feet. "Kail!" Oh god, no!!"

She saw a pale, white hand, and sobbing, she dove for it. She screamed as she saw it to be hacked arm and nothing else.

She tried to calm her senses, reminding herself that it was too pale to be Kail's hand, and that it was way too skinny and shallow. But her teeth chattered and every nerve on her body seemed to spark and crackle like a circuit even as she told herself to calm down.

Then, she saw a large white bone, almost like a thin elephant's tusk protruding from the center, probably only a fraction of it.

She waded in more until it was too deep for her to swim and wrapped her hand around the bone. She slid down, took a deep breath and went underneath the surface.

With her fingers, she searched.

She felt a face, and a ring on what was probably the eyebrow.

Keeping her panic down, she pulled and yanked, and kicking through the dank, thick liquid, she pulled the body up.

It was Kail, Kail, with a long white bone, like an elephant's tusk pierced above his heart.

She pulled him above her, locking her arm around his head like she was taught in survival classes and pulled him up on the stairs. She laid her ear against his nose to hear if he was breathing.

He coughed once, spewing blood over her face and she grabbed his uninjured shoulder.

"Kail!" She cried. "Are you all right?"

"Moran?" He said, but his voice was so soft she could hardly hear it. "Moran how did you – "

"Kail…" She touched the bone gently. "Are you – "

"Can't feel a thing," he said and gave her a tired grin. "Thought I'd drowned."

"Kail…your shoulder…" She tried to keep the fear down in her voice.

"If I die…" He shut his eyes.

"KAIL!" She slapped his face hard. 

"Found him so soon, Sorceress?

She flinched and turned.

Mephisto grinned down at her, his fangs glimmering dangerously on his jawbone.

"I shouldn't have doubted you, little Sorceress," he threw her something and it clattered at her feet. It was the blade.

"The Gidbhin! The Blade of the Old Religion!" Kail gasped.

"Shhh," She cradled his head against her arm and looked at Mephisto. "I thought you were dead."

"You couldn't kill me with just a blade, although I have to say that thing is rather powerful for its size, just like what they say with men," Mephisto chuckled. Blue light exploded on his arms. "So now I have a good excuse to kill you."

"Moran, run," Kail said.

"Shut up, Kail," she hissed. "You die, I die too."

"Is there a good reason?" He hissed back angrily at her. "Save your life while you can!"

Mephisto raised his arms.

Moran buried her face next to Kail's and cast Shiver Armor over both of them. She clutched onto him and prayed.

"AHHH!"

She opened her eyes.

"What on earth?"

"Miss us?" Thorn grinned down at them.

"Nikan?" Moran gasped as the she saw the Amazon hurl a spear at Mephisto. The beast screamed in pain and lashed out angrily.

"_The Iron Wolves_?" Kail coughed.

"What will you do without us?" Asheara cried out in rage and threw the snake that was hanging around her neck straight at Mephisto. It curled around his neck, glowing in a green light and sqeeuzed. A throng of ironclad men brought their swords on Mephisto and releasing either inferno or balls of burning flames, while other released bolts of ice.

"I don't believe this," Kail slumped against her shoulder. "How on earth…"

"The Assassin, Natalya," Moran said as she watched her bring down her talons on Mephisto whom lashed out angrily. "She – I guess she escaped the Flayers."

"He's not dying!" One of the Iron Wolves cried. 

"The soulstone!" Kail coughed. "Get the soulstone!"

"I'll do it!" Moran let go of him and ran, ignoring his angry bellowing.

"Thorn!" She shouted. "Give me the extra boost!"

She jumped up and grabbed the Barbarian's large shoulders before he could think what she was going to do. She stepped down on his belt, which was thick enough to support her feet, and climbed on his shoulders. She crouched down, trying to find her balance.

"Moran? What on earth – "

"Shoot me up towards Mephisto!" She yelled. "Do it now, or this will never end!"

"Thorn, no!!" Kail shouted and broke off coughing.

"Do it Thorn, or I'll kill you again in the afterlife," she hissed.

"All right," Thorn bent down and leapt up. Moran released her hold on him and she flew through the air at a very rapid pace. She held out her hand…Mephisto's face was right in her face…he gave her a snarl…

Her fingers closed around the glimmering stone on his chest, and she let her bodyweight pull it off.

She felt an Iron Wolf grab her before both of them crashed on the ground and slid back several feet. "Thanks," she muttered, rubbing her spine. 

"Look!"

Mephisto seemed to have frozen in midair, his arms reaching towards heaven. Then he exploded in a mass of light. The ground beneath her shook with a force enough to shatter her bones apart. She tried to stand up but the Iron Wolf held on to her.

"Stay still, Sorceress, let the force pass," he said.

Fire exploded from the ceiling and the blood in the pool seemed to scream with its own supernatural power. The empty portal started churning and unholy shouts rose from the carcasses. The portal turned red and glowed.

Then everything stopped.

The first thing on her mind after her body absorbed the shock of the confusion was Kail. She pushed away the Iron Wolf away and crossed the pool of blood to where Kail laid. She slid down on her knees and took his hand.

"Kail? Kail?"

"You did good, Moran," he grinned and shut his eyes.

"KAIL!" She gasped. "Someone! Someone help!"

"Anyone have a healing potion?" Nikan said. 

"Wait, stand back," someone said.

"Ollan?" Moran looked up at the Paladin.

"I'll try to help him Moran," he said, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Help me remove the bone."

"I – I don't think you should do that," she looked at Kail. "He's – "

"Moran?"

"All right," she said. Ollan motioned for her to wrap her hands around the bone. She shut her eyes and with a horrible, squelching sound, they pulled it out of Kail's body.

"Damn it!" He screamed as the bone was pulled out from his flesh. He gasped.

"I thought you couldn't feel anything," Moran said, trying to smile but she could feel her teeth chattering.

"Stand back," Ollan said. He pulled out his sword.

"Ollan…" Kail said weakly, holding onto his wound, his blood running through his fingers. "Don't do this…it's too much."

"Helping a friend is never too much," Ollan whispered.

Kail looked away. "I thought you shunned Necromancers."

"I shun the dark, not the victim of the dark," Ollan said.

Kail looked away again and this time he refused to return his gaze or say a thing.

Ollan wrapped his hands around the hilt of his sword, one knee on the ground the other raised, and his head bent over his folded hands.

"Father…" he whispered. "Who art in Heaven…"

A thin stream of light flowed down from the ceiling and Moran looked up, expecting to see a hole, but there wasn't any. The light turned Ollan's hard features into a soft glow – like a photograph taken with a pair of soft lens. Miraculously, his bloodstained field plate turned clean and glowed with the same holy light his skin reflected. Ollan, bowing over his sword and bending over Kail who was dying…

Moran felt her throat tighten.

Ollan ran his wrists over the sides of his sword.

Blood flowed from the deep cuts, but it wasn't like the dead blood in the pool – it wasn't like the lifeless blood that surrounded the hallways of Kurast – it was blood that resembled life – pure, holy blood itself. The redness also had its own glow to it, each stream, and each drop sparkling like a crimson ruby.

I'll keep this scene in my head forever, Moran thought as she watched Ollan. She couldn't help but think that the way light was streaming off his armor was like a pair of huge wings.

"Looks like an archangel, huh? Damn…" Asheara shook her head in amazement.

_My thoughts exactly_, Moran said as she watched Ollan's blood spill off his wrists and land on Kail.

"Ollan…" Kail said, gritting his teeth. "That's enough…"

Ollan kept his head down and continued to let the blood flow.

"Ollan, stop," Kail reached up with a hand.

Ollan stumbled and the light disappeared. He crashed down on his side, his armor ringing a clear, clear sound through the hall.

"What was that?" Moran asked Nikan as they rushed over to help. 

"Sacrificial aura," Nikan said. "Giving a part of his own life to save Kail."

She rushed over to Kail and looked at his wound. It had shrunk down to a size of a small bullet wound and even though it still looked serious, it was nothing compared to what he had before Ollan had helped him.

"I hope you still don't hate him anymore," Moran smiled and helped him up with Thorn on the other side.

"That was what I'd afraid would happen," he groggily said.

"Look at Ollan…" Asheara whispered and covered her mouth.

Moran looked at the two Iron Wolves helping Ollan. He was purely unconscious, but what shocked her the most was his shoulder.

There was a puncture wound of the exact same shape and size as Kail's.


	18. Hell's Edge

**Oops. So I wasn't here for most of the summer anyway _ Argh, the only reason would be the King and Queen of the castle (my mom and dad) decided to enlarge our house and they're tearing the walls down and I couldn't concentrate on anything except for allowing myself to slip into the dark world of books and manga while listening to the bang – bang, rumble - rumble. School opens on the 13th…anyway, here's chapter 18, and enjoy it. Chapter 19 and 20 will be the final works for Time Blood. And then, I can work on my next ambitious project…the sequel, which involves Baal. Now, I'm off to go to bed so bear with me… yawn.**

Chapter 18: Hell's Edge 

Moran took Kail's hand and looked at him with creased eyebrows. Even in sleep on the white sheets and pillows, he looked troubled. "Is he going to be all right?"

"You young people worry too much," Alkor said, offering her a steaming up. "Drink this. It'll help with removing the tainted blood in your body."

"What?"

"The tainted blood that you've probably drank while wading through Mephisto's pool of blood," he said. "Old, decaying blood is not good for the stomach, even the slightest bit."

"Thank you," she said and sipped the warm liquid, finding it to be sweet and for some reason…milky. She set it down and looked at Kail again. She released his somewhat cold hand and walked to Ollan's bed.

"That one's in deeper trouble than Master Kail," Alkor took sheets of white bandage and set them close to Ollan. "But he'll be fine. Are you going to be all right with these two?"

"Of course, I'll change the bandages and all," she grinned. "And what can they do? They're unconscious."

Alkor grunted. "I'll be around if you need me. Just run shouting for my name."

"Thanks," she watched his stooped figure leave the room and the bamboo door shut with a creak. 

"Don't die on me, Ollan, we're rootin' for you," she gave Ollan's head an affectionate pat and went back to sit on the small pillow, next to Kail's low bed. She laid her head down on the bed and shut her eyes.

After a while, she felt a hand on her back and her eyelids fluttered open.

"Kail! Finally!" She threw her arms around him and he started coughing violently.

"Oh, sorry," she said and he gave her a sheepish grin.

"Despite the circumstances I'm in, I appreciated that." He said.

"Water?" She asked.

"How long was I unconscious?" He asked as she filled a clay mug with water.

"A day and a few hours," she said, handing him the water. "We've spent that time helping the Iron Wolves clear out Kurast. It's amazing how many of the creatures died when Mephisto was killed."

"How did the Iron Wolves and Natalya manage to get through the High Council? And how did they manage to get in without Kahlim's Flail?"

Moran grinned. "Good thing they explained it all to me before. They didn't need a Flail to find the true temple. Natalya used her shadow disciplines to track us down as the Flayers took us to the temple. With Ollan, Thorn, and Nikan that recovered from Diablo's poison – "

"How on earth did they get rid of the poison?" Kail rubbed his head.

"Many theories behind this one," Moran shrugged. "All they knew is that…they recovered enough to go with Natayla and the Iron Wovles to the Temple…and save us."

Kail looked at Ollan. "I owe him."

"Lots," Moran took his hand and squeezed it. "You owe him your life and I'm not joking. And maybe it's about time you start acting friendly to him."

Kail smirked and eyed Ollan. "Hey…do I actually owe him that much?"

"More."

"Moran?"

"What?" She hardly had time to react before he reached up and pulled her down into an embrace.

"When you were saying that if…I die, you'll die as well…did you mean that or was that something to throw Mephisto off?" He breathed against her neck.

She shut her eyes and curled an arm around his head. "What do you think you idiot!?" A feeling of disbelief curled in her body as he said those words.

"Why? He whispered.

"That's because you're my friend, you bastard," she said, feeling hot, unwilling tears flooding her eyes. "That's because I fucking care about you." Her hand clutched the thin fabric of his shirt. 

She felt something wet running down the side of her neck, and she prayed with all her heart that it wasn't a tear from Kail's eye.

A soft moan came from the other bed.

She pulled away from Kail and rushed to Ollan's bed.

"Ollan? Ollan?" She whispered and saw Kail struggling to get up.

He opened an eye and moaned. "Do you have…anything sweet to eat?"

Moran laughed as Kail bent down and gave Ollan's head a playful rub. "You damned dog, you nearly got yourself killed," he said.

"So did you," he said. "Anyway, my stomach desires a healthy dose of Kurastian iced fruit juice."

Moran covered her mouth from exploding with laughter. Despite the situation with Diablo escaping and the injuries…she felt at serenity for once.

For once…

"No, seriously, that's all right," Moran brushed off an offer as an Iron Wolf asked for her to accompany him to Asheara's bath houses. She gulped and quickly walked away, running into Kail.

"Ah…" he clutched his shoulder the moment her head banged against his wound.

"I keep forgetting you're a weakling," she grinned.

"And maybe you need eyes in your head so you can see where you're going," he frowned. "Was that Iron Wolf giving you any trouble?"

"I just told him I'd accompany his bath – " she ducked and laughed before Kail could grab her arm in alarm. "Just kidding – "

"Come on," he grabbed her arm. "You started packing yet?"

"We're leaving already?" She blinked as he led her pass the townsfolk.

"Of course we're leaving already," he said. "With Diablo…we couldn't linger. We're only staying here for an extra day because Ollan's still too weak to move around."

"Here, help me haul stuff out to the docks," he kicked open the door of his room and they walked in. "Make yourself useful."

"Sure, why not?" She grumbled and followed him in. She took a deep whiff of the citronella candles burning on the walls and looked around. He had a bigger room than hers, and was built very securely so hardly any light seeped in through the bamboo walls. A mattress probably built of dried grass had a clean white sheet covering it and tossed with white pillows. A rather elegant mosquito net was held up and gave the room a look of pure inviting comfort.

"You always get the better rooms," she grumbled, grabbing a heavy sack and hoisting it up on her shoulder. "Is it because people think you're leader?"

"It's because they think I'm more delicate than the rest of my team," he made a show of his biceps as he bent down to grab another sack and grinned. 

Moran rolled her eyes. "Sure. What's this?" She picked up what felt like a heavy bottle about the size of her fists placed together and wrapped in leather.

"Just something I thought I'd give to Ollan. In repayment of what he gave me," Kail pulled a wooden chest and dragged it outside the door.

She pulled off the leather and it was a vial, a large one with a heavy stopper made from tightly wrapped reeds. But the liquid inside was the strangest she had ever seen. The bottom was a clear jade green, layering on top was a pale coral, like rose quartz, and on the very top was a gold liquid. She shook it a few times but the potion remained in its layered state.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Alkor mixed up a potion with a golden statue Meshif gave me after I traded him with that jade figurine you found in the jungle," he said. "It's the very essence of life itself."

"Blood?" Moran tipped it again.

"No, not blood," he said. "_Life_. Not the power of everlasting life, but the power to enhance life's vulnerability. I was thinking about splitting it with us…but I want to give it to Ollan."

"You know…it's not that I want this or anything, but you do know Kail…" she held up the vial against the light and watched the colors sparkle. "He did it because he wanted to, not because he wanted you to be in his debt."

"I know that," Kail said quietly, his back towards her. "But what he did for me would be a sin if I didn't somehow find a way to do something for him in return. Give it to him for me?"

She nodded and walked past his towering frame.

_Life itself?_ She tipped the vial again and watched the fluid dance. 

She didn't like coming back to Mephisto's temple, with the pool of blood. The air was freezing cold, even though she had a thick fur cloak over her shoulders. She grabbed the closest source of warmth – Thorn's arm.

"Hey, I don't think Kail wants to see you like this with me," he joked, gesturing to the tall figure about a hundred feet away from them, leading the way with a large torch.

"Yes, I'm sure Kail wants to see me use your arm as a warming device," she grumbled. "It's so cold."

"Cold, yes, but wait till we arrive at the Pandemonium Fortress," he said. "That place is closest thing to Hell if it's not Hell already."

Thorn suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" She released his arm.

"Shhh," Thorn held up an arm so she could keep quiet.

They were right at the pool with the bridge of human bones that led to the portal-like device. Looking down at the bridge, Moran could make out large behemoth-like footprints. Only a very large creature could have done that.

She swallowed, hard.

Kail waved the torch in front of him as he crossed the bridge by himself. He threw the torch down into the pool of blood and everything turned black. She grabbed Thorn's arm again.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness after a few seconds and she saw Kail, only his hair standing out in the complete darkness. She saw him reach up to the portal and touched something.

An unholy scream ripped through the silence and a burst of red flashed from the portal. Moran covered her ears, her body shaking. Never had she heard a thing like that before in her life. She clamped her teeth down on her lips before she would start screaming as well.

She forced herself to look at the portal and gasped.

It was as if someone had a poured blood – no, blood that glowed as if it was fire down the portal, creating a film of glowing redness. Human faces, beveled through the blood screamed and shouted as if being tortured. They tried to break free from the film of glowing blood and reach out to the humans. Moran saw a small hand that looked like it belonged to a child reach out towards Kail with a sharp cry of horror.

Moran was shaking – violently as well. She heard herself whimper and back away, right into Ollan. The crashing of his armor against hers made her regain her senses, but terror and fear pumped with burning adrenaline still caused her to shake.

"Calm down," Ollan's voice was soft and gentle, as if he was calming a frightened horse. "It's all right."

"I'm not going into that thing!" She cried, her voice rising to a shriek. "I'm not! I'm – "

Ollan took off his black cloak that he wore loosely wrapped around his shoulder plated and covered her face and body with it before she could say another word. She fought for a second but stopped. She felt him wrap an arm around her and made her walk. She clenched her fists together, her teeth shaking. Heat brushed over her body and she felt like a thousand hands was grabbing at her clothes.

"NO!" She cried. "No! Let me go – Ah!"

She tripped over something hard and she went sprawling down. _This is it…they're going to get me_, she thought. But her face fell against warm stone and she heard the crash of armor against hard surface next to her.

She pulled Ollan's cloak off her face and looked up.

"Are you all right?" Nikan took her hand and pulled her up. 

"The faces – the heat," Moran tried to control her shaking buy wrapping her arms around her body. "I'm sorry, Ollan." She said to the paladin. "I didn't mean to – "

"It's all right," he said, picking up his cloak.

Moran looked around, and took in a deep breath. The Pandemonium Fortress loomed in front of her, a stone structure constructed as a fortress. There wasn't a roof, but Gothic cathedral arches loomed over their heads. Around them a few tents – not really tents but more like sheets of ragged cloth and wood tied up firmly to the walls to make square-like dwelling places. 

She stumbled and clutched at her chest.

"Ah – " She gasped. Pain ripped through her heart and she fell down on her knees.

"Are you all right?" Someone asked but she couldn't tell who it was. She wanted to get rid of the extreme pain in her chest and nothing else.

"Aftershock," she heard someone say, probably Kail. "That portal doesn't treat resisting people very well. I'll take her in."

She felt someone gently pick her up and carried her into a complete darkness where she was laid on something soft, but she could feel the hard ground underneath her body.

And suddenly, the snapping pain deep inside her lungs was suddenly gone. 

She felt her body snap to an upright position and she clutched at the sheets around her. She was in one of the makeshift tents and it was completely empty except for the thin sheets and mattress she was lying on, her trunk of weapons and armor, and four candles burning. 

She pushed back the cloth and stuck her head outside.

Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion and she looked out. It was still dark, but it was a brighter kind of dark – the red, grayish sky was covered with somewhat brighter clouds. 

"What the hell?" She said. "It can't be – "

She saw a looming shadow over her and looked up to see Kail leaning on the tent and looking down at her. "Morning. You were out cold for the entire night."

"But – " she blinked. "It felt like only a few seconds."

"Aftershock from the portal," he said. 

Kail extended a hand covered in fingerless chain mail gauntlet the color of gold to her. She took it and he pulled her up. "The others?" She asked.

"Procrastinating," he grinned. "No, we're just waiting for you. We don't want to…" he nodded towards the outside. "Go outside without everyone."

She swallowed hard and looked at him in the eye. "Does this mean you've actually excepted me into the group?" She tried hard not to crack a smile. "After all I've done?"

"Moran," Kail bent down and looked at her in the eye. "What on earth, or Hell did you even have an idea that you weren't excepted?"

She looked down. "Bratty kid with no experience. Getting everyone in trouble…"

"No."

Before she could react, before she could even think, Kail suddenly grabbed her and roughly kissed her without warning. Fire burned through her and she clutched at the nape of his neck, tangling her fingers into his thick hair and returning the fiery passion back with both her lips and tongue. She stumbled, losing her balance and he shoved her up against the wall inside of the tent, holding her up with one arm behind her neck, and the other held her left thigh against his hip. She turned her head away to gasp for a breath of air before returning to him. She broke a hand free away from his neck to run it down his hard chest, clutching at the thin fabric of his shirt.

And then, the old fear of Kail not wanting her, but his old lover returned.

"No! Stop!" She cried, shoving him away. He fell back and she slid back on the ground, panting hard and clutching her chest. Hot tears ran down from her eyes, matching the burning hatred in her heart. 

"Moran?" Kail's eyebrows were knotted in confusion, his lips bloodshot from the kiss. "What is it?"

"Go!" She half screamed, half sobbed. "Just get out of here – I don't want to see you! Just get out! Go!" She turned away from him. "Go…please."

She didn't dare look at him as she heard him pull back the tent flaps and leave. She slid down on the ground and wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to control her breathing. 

_What's wrong with me_? She numbly pulled a thin quilt around her shoulder and shut her eyes.

She avoided Kail.

It was hard though, as they walked single file down the crumbling stone staircase that led from the fortress down to the barren, hell-like wasteland that lay below them. Kail was directly behind her, and she could almost feel his eyes boring deep.

She looked down and saw the bubbling lava and beneath her feet and watch a few loose stones break free and hit the molten rock. She quickly followed Nikan and landed gently on the hard ground.

"Keep watch," was all Kail said to her as he walked away.

Holding her staff in her hands, she followed the others. The air was burning hot and sweat dribbled down her face, and all was quiet except for the sound of her own heavy breathing. She looked out. It was a barren wasteland all right…the sky was a cloudy gray that stretched on forever, and here and there were strange gothic-like structures looming from the ground like skeletons. Far away, she could make out something that looked like a very twisted and black castle.

"That's out destination," Thorn said, pointing. "Diablo awaits."

Moran nodded, her throat dry. She walked pass a looming, blackened stone arch covered in chains.

"Argh!" She gasped. "Humans!"

Looking closer, she realized that the arch wasn't black – it was covered with probably hundreds of decaying, blackened corpses of humans. She swallowed the bile that was forcing itself up her throat. Blood dribbled down the arches and formed clotting pools on the infertile ground.

"Moran, come on! Stay close!" She heard Ollan call.

She forced herself to look away from the mass of corpses and started to follow him.

Something grabbed at the back of her neck.

She screamed, whirling around to find that the hundred corpses had turned alive – animated from death. They were howling, screaming into the air and trying to reach for her. The corpse that was holding onto the back of her head had half of its face mashed to pulp, yet still had long, flowing black hair. It gave off a wail and tried to reach for her with its other hand.

"No! Help!" She whirled her staff, bringing the bladed end down on the arm. She heard a sickening crack and the severed arm fell down on the ground.

"Moran!" Kail yelled. "Get out of there!"

"Ah!" More hands grabbed at her arms and legs. Someone grabbed both her wrists before she could runaway and squeezed hard.

_I can't drop the staff; I can't drop the staff_…she chanted to herself. Pain shot up her wrists and they turned everything numb. The staff dropped from her hands and she screamed in pain as she felt the nails digging into her skin. She tried to kick, but her legs too, were held on firmly.

"Oh, god, no!" She cried. They were dragging her into their death – they were dragging her inside with them!

"NOOO!"

Shoots of icicle and streaming cold water shot from her fingers, catalyzing the corpses into ice. 

"Moran! Oh no! DON'T!"

Suddenly, without warning, the ice exploded. She turned her face away, feeling the sharp ice bullets strike her neck and shoulders and the side of her cheek. She hit the ground, only to find herself sliding down.

She had landed on the edge of the land.

And down beneath her, the lava boiled and twisted.

She gripped at the rock, but she still slid down until her legs caught a ledge poking out from the side. She gasped as some of the fiery hot liquid spurted and exploded, nearly hitting her boots.

"Moran, hold on! AH – "

"KAIL!" She screamed as she heard his yell. She pulled herself up a few inches.

"No! Moran, stay down there – "

She looked up above the head, her arms shaking to hold her body up. She looked and bit down a cry of fear.

Ten – or more looming figures in tall armor had surrounded her companions. They were taller than normal men – ten feet or more at most, and about ten times as wide. The tallest one dwarfed Thorn down to a small dog against a horse.

"Oblivion Knights," she heard Kail hiss.

Moran grabbed a rock jutting out in front of her and pressed hard on the ledge, trying to drag her body up.

The ledge underneath her heel gave away.


	19. Hell's Bones

For those of you who had thought I had died and left fanfiction.net (or at least the Diablo part anyway…) I'm not dead! I'm just really busy with school, life, and problems :P Lots of problems. Lots of work, lots of sports. I'll try to finish the up coming last chapter as soon as I can so I can start with the Expansion Set sequel that's been digging at my brain for a few months now. Pray that the inspiration bunnies will hit. Oh yeah – and I forgotten whether it was Tizual or Izual :P 

Everything that should belong to Blizzard and Diablo belongs to Blizzard and Diablo.

Amen.

Chapter 19: Hell's Bones

As soon as she felt the ledge give out under her, she dug her fingernails into whatever matter she could, but it didn't seem to help. She toppled backwards and somersaulted through the hot air and fell towards the boiling lava.

She screamed and frost shot straight from her fingers and into the fiery death that awaited her in the bubbling redness. Waves of heat and cold from the vapor that rose from the lava surrounded her in a thick, cloudy mass. She was blinded for a moment before hitting the block of ice she had created.

She cried out as she slid on the rapidly melting ice and shrieked as she felt the tips of her steel-toed boots hit the lava. Faster than anything she had ever done in her life, she pulled out the dagger she had hidden in her boot and stabbed it on the ice, using all of her strength she could muster. The ice sprayed out as the sharp blade pierced through it, and she gasped for a breath of air. 

She would not survive for long.

She tried to use Telekinesis, but all she managed was a sharp flicker of electricity that hovered in the air in front of her before flickering away. Sweat ran down her body, and the front of her torso was chilled from the ice.

The rapidly melting ice.

_I came this far…I'm not going to die._

Using what felt like the last of her strength, she flicked her feet and managed to slide up a few feet. She jerked her dagger out of the ice and jabbed it in front of her again. She pulled her body up, sweat catching on her eyelashes, mixing with the tears of pain. She jabbed at the ice again, and this time, she let go of the dagger with one hand and clutched at the hot dirt in front of her, but she lacked the strength to climb up.

"Moran!"

She looked up and saw Kail looking at her from above the ledge; a large head wound streamed blood across his face and the look of terror in his eyes was enough to make her want to drop her dagger.

"Don't MOVE!" He shouted.

And started down the broken cliff.

"KAIL! No!!!" She shouted. "Please…no…"

A burden.

A burden to the Five, a burden they have to protect. Now she was going to kill Kail.

"KAIL!" She screamed. "Go back! Go back or I'll let go!"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!!" He roared back and slid down a few feet down to a rock that jutted out of the red clay.

"Kail!! NOOOO!"

The reddish clay cracked underneath his weight and the rock slipped down, taking the Necromancer down with it. Moran felt like a knife had been stabbed in her mind.

As if a miracle had been proclaimed from heaven, the rock hit another boulder that rose from the side of the cliff and it stayed still long enough for Kail to regain his balance. "Moran, give me your hand," he held out his gloved hand, and it strayed a few inches from hers. 

"Kail, I'll pull you down with me!" She screamed at him.

"Quick! My strength isn't going to last very long!" He roared back, the anger flushing from his throat. A drop of his blood landed on the ice and ran in a thin river towards her hands. It diffused as it went along with the ice, life deteriorating as the red color mingled with the melting water and turned into nothing.

She released the dagger and grabbed his hand.

"Try to stand up."

Her boots slipped against the ice, but finally, she managed to rise up halfway, her muscles screaming in protest. Kail bent down before she could protest and grabbed her waist with one hand, her arm with the other.

She knew that if either Kail or her did one small, wrong move, both of them could end up tumbling into the river of fire that awaited them. Their only source of balance rested with Kail's leg, and the hope that the rock will not move.

Inch by inch, he finally pulled her until she was resting on her own legs. Her knees wobbled and she grabbed on the side of the cliff to stay still.

Kail stared at the wall, unanimated. He raised his hand and Moran covered her mouth in horror. Every fingernail was embedded into the flesh of his hands and blood flowed freely from them, covering his palms.

He gave a flick of his wand and a ladder-like structure composed of bones shot up to safety above. He roughly grabbed her leg and boosted her up before she could protest. As fast as she could, she climbed over the bones with Kail close to her heels. With a final push of her weary hands, she shoved her weakened body onto the surface and laid still. 

"Moran!" She heard Nikan cry out and she looked up to see the Amazon crouching down, trying to help her up.

She felt a hand slap across her cheek and she fell back on her knees.

"DAMN YOU MORAN!"

Kail stared at, his teeth gritted in madness, or terror, she couldn't tell, with his legs spread wide apart and one bloody fist clenched into a tight knot in front of his chest. His hair had come loose from its knot and blew widely around his face, the unearthly white strands contrasting against the dark ruby of the sky. Blood streamed down his face and his hands and the veins on his neck and arms popped out. For the first time, she knew she knew she had a reason to fear him.

"Damn you!" He shouted again. "If you might as well give up hope just because you nearly went sprawling into that river of flame, you might as well give up hope of ever defeating Diablo!! You said 'I'll let go'." He slammed the fist against his chest, on his heart. "The terror you experienced there is nothing like what you'll come to see – "

"I don't care about dying, I don't care about being killed by this Diablo – I don't want to be a reason for you to die!" She shrieked, clutching her head. 

"Over my dead body I'll let you die!" He jabbed a finger into her chest and she threw a punch at him, which he grabbed her arm. She twisted out of his grip and shook, resisting the temptation to squeeze her hands around his neck and shake him.

She felt Thorn's heavy hands on her shoulders, and surprisingly, she found them comforting. She turned away from Kail and buried her face in Thorn's leather armor, trying to control the anger that was sending shockwaves through her muscles.

"It's all right, lass," he said.

_All right… when will anything be all right?_

She started running after the others.

With every breath of the dank air, she found it harder and harder to breathe. Ahead of them, Kail scouted the trail they were running upon, his face as stiff as stone. Moran panted, pressing a hand to her side, but she didn't dare mention she was tired. Coals crunched underneath her boots as they came upon a dark ladder leading underneath the earth. Steam rose from the hole and the smell of decaying fire reached her nostrils.

Without a word, Kail dropped down the ladder and Ollan followed him. Thorn went down next and Nikan looked at Moran. "I'll go down," she said.

"No, you go first," Moran, said, wanting to keep her distance from Kail.

She watched Nikan's blonde hair disappear underneath the steam and the darkness.

Taking a deep breath, she placed a hand on the railing and prepared to slide down.

Blood exploded her face and her mouth was suddenly filled with something warm and copper-like.

Blood.

_Her own blood_.

She screamed, as she was pulled out of the hole with a force greater than a human's. She screamed as she saw the long, metallic claw protruding from her shoulder. She screamed as she saw her own ruptured flesh and bone. 

"What's this? A sorceress in the Village of the Damned?"

She panted, knowing her life hung upon a thread as her own body swung from the claw of a large metal beast, with wings that rose above her head. She started shaking severely as the inhuman face of her captor grinned at her.

"IZUAL!" She heard Kail shout. "Let her go!"

"Kail, don't! You'll kill her!"

She forced her eyes open and saw Kail with his wand raised up high, ready to execute a curse upon the fallen angel, but Ollan had grabbed his arm. 

"You'll curse Moran in the process – she'll die!" He said.

There was a ruthless cry from Nikan and Moran saw her release a javelin at Izual. The fallen angel merely laughed and Moran screamed as she felt her body slide against the metal claw. Thorn gave a war cry and leapt in the air, his axe high above his head. She heard, felt, and saw the blade of the axe falling against the large claw, slicing it through. She felt her body leave Izual's hold, and Thorn grabbed her before she hit the ground.

The pain was so intense the only thing she could do to prevent herself from fainting was to bite her tongue. Thorn dragged her away from the mutilated creature and deposited her into Kail's arms.

"Moran!" He said.

She pushed him away and clutched at the dirt in front of her. A wave of cold ice passed over her and frost collected on the ground, forming a path that led to Izual. The heat of the air melted it in less than a few seconds. 

"What are you doing, sorceress?" The fallen angel said, smiling. "It will take all off the snow and ice to be found in the Barbarian Highlands to freeze me."

Gritting her teeth, she plunged her hands into the water.

The spell of the charged bolt erupted from her fingers and ran across the water, sending strands upon strands of pure electricity. Stars exploded in front of her as Izual screamed in pain.

"_Tyrael – never – should have – trusted – me!" _She heard the metallic voice cry. "_Tyrael – stone – soul stone – fool! "_

"Moran let go!"

She pulled her hands out of the water and she felt like a thousand tiny batteries had suddenly had suddenly shocked her. She fell back a few feet and Kail wrapped an arm around her neck and the other around her waist.

Ollan pulled out his sword and leapt into the air, and with a clear swing, he brought the sword through the metal neck of the fallen angel that was still crackling with energy and lightning. Ollan came down on his knees and stayed still as the severed neck toppled off the powerful body and landed on the dirt.

Stars exploded again, but this time, it was in her own head.

"Moran!"

Her eyes fluttered open and she cried out in pain as soon as everything came to focus. She arched her back and promptly felt strong hands pushing her down.

"Don't move," Ollan said as he bent over her.

"NO!" She screamed. "You are not sacrificing part of your life for me! It's not worth it!"

She clutched at her torn shoulder and looked at him. "The rest of us needs you – it's better to have one broken, than to have two weak," she said. She took a shaky breath and held out her hand. "Give me a healing potion."

Kail slid the vial into her hands and she tore the cork away before pouring the whole thing into her mouth. The hole in her shoulder shrunk, but the pain it was giving her seemed worst than before.

"We have to keep going," she grunted, trying to push her heavy body up with one elbow. "There's no time to go back to town, and from what I'm guessing, each and every one of us needs to be there to bring down that bastard."

"Moran!" Kail took her hand and gave it a brief squeeze. "You can't fight like this."

"I'll just stay behind and try to electrocute him from afar," she grinned. "Come on, wrap me up."

Nikan tore a long strip of cloth and leather from her undershirt and tied it as tight as she could around the open wound, and Moran stood up. Except for a slightly woozy head and the wound that was threatening to rip her whole arm off, she felt almost normal.

"We're going to be scarred at the same place," she turned to Kail as soon as the others started walking down the smoking black path. She placed a hand on his quilted armor underneath the field plate and pulled it away to reveal the scar that he had received from Mephisto in Kurast. "I'm really sorry," she said.

"Sorry for what?" He thumped her head gently with his hand and took her arm. "Come on. The Chaos Sanctuary and Five seals await."

He dropped a kiss on her forehead and handed her staff to her. "You be careful now."

She weakly smiled back even though just holding the staff made her want to scream in pain.

"Ah – ah – ah –" she panted, as she tried to run after the others. Finally, she fell on one knee and managed to hold on a rock before falling on her face. She took a deep breath and held onto the stitch at her side. "Ow…" she moaned.

"Here," Thorn handed her a thin vial – almost as thin as a test tube with a milky liquid swishing around in the inside. "This might help you."

She tore through the cork with her teeth while running and poured whatever the white liquid was inside her mouth. Immediately, she felt warmth spread through her limbs and coolness through her burning head, and every tired muscle in her bone instantly came alive, save for the damned bleeding hole in her shoulder.

The instant spurt of adrenaline rushed through her veins and she started running, ignoring the stabbing pain in her shoulder. Kail cast her a look over his shoulder before continuing on the rocky path.

Finally after a few moments, Moran realized loose stones and gravel were no longer biting into the soles of her thick boots and she didn't trip over loose boulder so often. She looked down and saw a clear path of roughly cut stones was laid out – haphazardly at first, but slowly, they merged together and formed a straight path.

"Ollan…" she whispered to the paladin as they slowed down to a walk. "Where does this path lead to?"

"The Chaos Sanctuary," he ran a hand over his sweating brow, and turned to her. "Where the Five Seals awaits, and where Diablo rests in fury in the Pentagram." 

He raised his hand and pointed to the distance and Moran followed his finger with her eyes. An ominous black shadow – so large it could have covered the entire Rogue Monastery wavered in the heat. She shut her eyes and she heard what sounded like a thousand humans screaming while their still-beating hearts were being ripped out of their bodies.

"How does one cause Terror to flee in fear, Moran?" Ollan asked her. 

"But terror _is_ fear," she said. 

"Terror is much deeper than fear," his gray eyes bore into the looming darkness. "Fear is something you know – something you expect. Terror is something that comes upon you, something that you don't expect – something that is strong enough to make you mad. You don't have terror within you – terror comes after fear, and fear comes after terror. Even Terror itself has fears."

"And what is it?" She asked, clutching her staff with her unharmed hand. _Terror…_

"Terror's fear…fear of becoming nothing more than fear, Moran," he said. "Don't you understand? If Terror itself turns into nothing more than something frightful, then it is _no longer real_."

Ollan gave her a nod and trotted a few yards away from her.

She bit down on her lip, and with newfound determination, she kicked up her heels and hurried to join the front of the group.

When she was younger, Moran used take large globs of clay and turned it into creatures that looked like nothing more than distortions of the real thing. But gradually, it would take shape if she continued to work on it, to shape her hands around it, to take a small needle and etch lines into it. It would start to take shape and become a horse, a dog, or a dragon.

That was how the Chaos Sanctuary looked like. Developing from darkness into a Black Cathedral – made with bricks carved out of black bone, and plaster mixed with marrow pulp and blood. Reddish-black smoke rose from the carved towers and loomed in a frightful darkness over her their heads. 

Kail threw out a hand and signaled for them to stop.

Moran looked ahead of her at the path and took a deep breath. An archangel – not as beautiful or glorifying as Tyrael was, but frightening all the same. He gave off a blue aura and the blackness inside his hood seemed to look straight at her, as if it was nothing but a thousand eyes clothed in a black veil.

"Wait," Kail whispered. "Before we approach the Sanctuary…we have to…" he held out his hands and showed a large blue stone, longer than Moran's finger and about twice as thick. It threw patterns of light on the ground before them. "Mephisto's soul stone. Stay here."

Nikan looked like she was starting to protest until Thorn laid a heavy hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Kail disappeared in the smoky darkness for what felt like hours as they waited for him. Suddenly, a sound like a small baby crying broke through the silence – which rapidly grew to a bellowing of a grown man. The sky flared red and Moran heard herself whimper.

Kail appeared, his silver hair splattered with blood, and Moran saw a thin line of what looked like broken glass on the left side of his cheek. A bloody hammer fell out of his hands and he fell on his knees, panting.

"KAIL!" Her throat tightened as she fell down on her knees next to him and took his hands.

"I'm fine," he stood up. "The Soul Stone had to destroyed." He stared at her. "You'll have the pleasure of beating Diablo's damned Stone to pieces, like I have done to Mephisto's."

Limping slightly, he walked up to the Archangel and bowed his head in greeting.

"Tizual," he said. "Gaurdian of the Sanctuary."

"_Procees Mortals, into Terror's lair,_" the organic/metallic voice boomed over them and the blue aura surrounding the large wings expanded. "_Know this, that Diablo's innermost sanctum lies within the Five Seals…Five seals…five heroes._"

"Five seals…Five Heroes,"Moran felt the breath catching in her throat.

"_Go_."

She raised her staff, the Shiver Armor around her flashed once, and she stepped on the path that led to Death.

"_Flee in fear, Terror_," she hissed.

Welcome to Hell.

__

__


	20. Hell's Heart

**Usual Copyright information goes here. Diablo is © to Blizzard, but it should've belonged to me ****L **

**Final chapter for Time Blood…which means I get to write the sequel for Lord of Destruction very soon…Mhua ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Expect a return of the characters, as well as the Druid and the Assassin joining in ****J**

**And guys…thanks for all of your reviews ****J You've all been very great, and each and every review has given me more inspiration to write. You rock. Every single one of you ****J Sorry if I haven't replied to every single review, but believe me, I appreciate every single one of 'em.**

** Also, I'm editing each chapter because I think my writing skills have developed drastically over the years that I've been writing "Time Blood". Check around!**

** While you're waiting for the sequel and edited chapters, why don't you go ahead to a story I'm co-writing with a good friend of mine at : ?storyid=1648702 It's a story revolving around futuristic dystopian world where a drug that's suppose to be the solution to every human's problems, turns out to be the a deadly enzyme that turned many humans into nocturnal flesh-eating beasts at night. Happy reading and thanks again ****J**

Chapter 20: Hell's Heart 

Silence closed in around her.

Moran took a deep breath, as fear raced down her spine. Despite the heat of the air and the burning fire outside, the Chaos Sanctuary was strangely quiet. She felt watched.

Something moved and she felt a burning pain go down her cheek. She whirled around and pain shot down her injured shoulder.

"Watch it," Thorn grabbed her before she stumbled.

"What was that?!" She looked at the stained glass window in front of her. "I swore – it – it – "

"Moved?" Kail said quietly. "Yes, it moved. The Chaos Sanctuary is as alive as you are…" he looked at the window. "It's alive…"

He swung his war sword, bringing it down on the glass.

"Come on," he said. "Stay close."

He motioned for them to follow him with a gloved hand. Moran shivered and followed him.

"Shh…" he stopped. "Five Seals. One for each of us."

She saw that each of the Five Seals, a strange metal-like dome structure with a pentagram base that swung silently.

Five Seals…

They took their places, each at their own Seal.

"Together!" Kail shouted. "NOW!"

She stepped onto the Seal, and with a flash of light, a horde of Hell spawn and other beasts burst from a supernova of light, nearly blinding her. Red filled her vision as she brought up the bladed end of her staff and swung it, willing herself not to think about anything except for defeating the damned beasts that stood in front of her. With a cry, she lifted an Oblivion Knight off his feet and he disintegrated into a mass of dust.

She didn't know how long she fought – time and space seemed to melt into one. The Dark Mages that tried to bring her down only succeeded in angering her, and each curse they threw at her only fueled her senses as she threw her spells at them, her elemental magic forming a burning pool of fiery colors of blue and red.

For a few moments, she had forgotten who she was. Her armor and weapon molded into her body and she became a true Sorceress, with the Berserk spirit of a Barbarian, strength of an Amazon, the Necromancer's way of extinguishing life, and a Paladin's eyes to see through the truth.

Panting, she stepped back from the carnage that surrounded her and that strange feeling of destruction and war-hunger escaped her. She was who she was again: Moran.

She felt something trickling down her face and realized there was a large wound directly on her hairline and blood was flowing freely down her face. She touched it gingerly and pain shot through her head. She wanted to stop…wanted to stop and close her eyes and sleep forever.

But she can't.

She turned to the middle of the Sanctuary, where Diablo's Pentagram awaited them.

Kail was afraid.

The same scene was unfolding before his eyes, the same scene in his past when he had lost his love: the Five Heroes surrounding Diablo's Pentagram.

It was exactly the same! This wasn't right – it was just a trick of the light, perhaps it was only his thinking…but everything was the same!

His heart pounded in panic. If he didn't do something, Moran was going to die.

He ran towards her but a sudden beam of red, burning light broke through the middle of the pentagram and separated all of them further. Sweat ran down his brow as he clutched at his war sword.

Diablo stood before them.

It was the same Beast that he had set his eyes on before – the same butchered lamb-like head with the gargantuan horns of a goat on his great head. The entire body was covered with scales as red as blood and his claws sharpened and pointed at the heavens, each of them well over six feet long. Smoke hissed from his clawed hooves as he slowly straightened and smiled at them. His eyes burned the color of pus and the sharp teeth that grinned at them flashed like knives.

"The Five has come for the Dark Wanderer," the Beast said. "And the Dark Wanderer awaits…"

"MOVE!" Kail shouted. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!"

The rays of red lightning came towards them in a wave faster than any of them expected. He was knocked flat on his stomach as the deadly energy hit him. Fire burned in his bowels and a spray of blood shot from his lips. But he was back on his feet, knowing that if he stayed for another second, he might never get up again.

He cast a spray of teeth at Diablo, but it seemed to do nothing against the Beast. He frantically looked around for the others. Nikan was shrieking and throwing bolt and bolt of her lightning javelin at Diablo and it pierced through his skin. He hardly flinched as he turned towards her and opened his great mouth.

"NIKAN!!" Kail cried.

The Amazon leapt and rolled as a long jet of flame shot straight from his mouth, the fire narrowly missing her body.

"We can't do this!!" Kail shouted. "Everyone! Portal!"

He unrolled the parchment, tearing off the blue seal with his teeth and spitting it out. Moran teleported to his side and he roughly shoved her inside the cloudy blue energy just as it was unfolding into a portal.

"Go, go, GO!" He shouted, grabbing Nikan and Ollan by the arm and pulling them into the portal. Thorn leapt over Diablo's thrashing tail.

"Go first!" He cried, as Thorn brushed past him. He was about to fling himself inside the portal when a bone cage very similar to the ones he used sprang around the portal, blocking his escape. He turned to the Beast, Diablo, and hissed angrily.

Diablo said nothing, the remains of the bone cage spell leaving a greenish residue on his claws. He smiled down at Kail, his teeth glittering at the same tempo with the burning red soul stone embedded in his damned head.

Without another look at Diablo, Kail lifted his war sword and hacked at the bone cage, screaming his lungs out to provide his limbs with the strength he needed. The bone splintered and cracked as he felt heat behind his back. He dove into the portal as he felt the fire from Diablo's Flame Wave spell scorch the heels of his boots.

He fell and rolled into the Fortress, coming up and one knee and using his sword to balance himself. His entire back felt like someone has taken a sword that was held over a fire and rolled it over his skin. Panting, he pushed himself up.

"We can't do this," he said.

Thorn turned to him, the Barbarian's dark eyes blazing. "What did you say?"

"We can't do this!" He shouted, throwing his sword down. The sweet, ringing tone of metal hitting stone sounded through the fortress and summarized his anger and pain. He covered his eyes with one gloved hand.

"We did not come all this way to stop now!" Nikan said angrily.

He uncovered his eyes and looked at them. Thorn was looking at him as if he was mad, as if he was on the very edge of sanity. Nikan looked angry and flustered, as if he had betrayed all of them. Ollan remained silent, but he cast his eyes to the distant, holding his feelings back.

But Moran was on her hands and knees, her bladed staff next to her. He felt a surge of panic rush through him. But then, he saw that her hands were clenched into fists, and her entire body was shaking, if not with pain, then anger.

She slowly picked up her staff, and in the same fashion as he did earlier with his sword, used it to balance herself so that she could stand up. She kept her head down, and her hair that was slowly falling loose from its knot covered her eyes.

Suddenly, without warning, she shouted and whirled the staff above her head. He shouted as the bladed end narrowly missed his forehead. He stumbled backwards into a pillar.

Moran held the staff, her hands shaking and her teeth clenched in anger. She held it so the bladed end was placed with its diamond-sharp tip was held with it against the skin of his throat.

"MORAN!" Thorn roared. "Put that staff down!"

"No, Thorn," Moran said, her eyes fixed on him. "He's Leader here, and he's preventing us from killing the one thing that's going to kill all of us – Diablo. I want him dead. When he dies, we can go and kill Diablo."

"Moran, stop this! This is madness!" Ollan whispered.

"No, I'm not the one who's mad," Moran said. "Kail is. We didn't travel into Hell just to do a bit of sightseeing – we're here to kill Diablo once and for all, and that's what I'm going to do!"

"You are not going to drag me into this world just for me to do nothing!" She shouted.

"Moran…don't this…" Kail said. "You'll

"Then we'll die," Moran said, lifting the staff away from his throat. "We'll all die. Together. The Five."

He slid down and covered his face with his hands. "No. Please, don't make me do this…I'll be murdering all of you with my own hands if I let you go back to the Chaos Sanctuary."

"We've been given another chance."

He looked up and saw that it was Ollan who had spoken those words. The paladin held his sword by the blade and was offering the hilt to him.

"Fight with me," Ollan said. "Brother."

Kail looked away.

"Fight with me."

He looked up and saw that Moran was biting her lip and looking at the sky, tears leaving trails in her dirt and blood covered face.

He looked into Ollan's gray eyes, and slowly, he lifted his hand and took the hilt. He stood up.

"Even if it is for the last time," Kail said. He clasped Ollan's shoulder. He looked at Moran and she nodded at him.

He held his sword in his hand and nodded back.

When they went through the portal, they were ready.

Thorn emerged first, screaming a war cry of fury and using his axe to tear down the bone cage that Diablo had cast around the portal. Moran came in after him as the bones cracked and splintered, raising her hands to cast a Glacial Spike spell. Nikan and Ollan emerged after her. Then Kail felt the portal melted away from his body as he entered the Sanctuary last, leaving safety behind. He raised his war sword and started chanting. He dropped his shield and held out the empty hand.

"Trang'Oul…" he whispered.

The last words of his chant turned into a scream and he heard the thousand voices of the spirits of the dead in Hell join in his song. A bone spear, the Talon of Trang'Oul formed in his hands and he clutched at it, sweat pouring from his brow.

He threw the spear, screaming his rage and vengeance into his Death Song.

"A REQUEIM!!" He cried. "A REQUEIM FOR YOU, DIABLO!!!"

The Talon of Trang'Oul swept past the other Heroes, and embedded its point into Diablo's throat.

The Beast froze and so did the rest of the Heroes.

Slowly, Diablo fell on his knees, his hands trying to reach for the Talon that protruded from his grotesque neck. Blood flowed from his wound and hissed as it hit the ground.

"No…" Diablo moaned. He slowly slid on his side.

"No," Kail heard Moran whispered. "There's something wrong."

He looked at the gaping wound at the beast's throat where he had torn out the Talon, and even though there was a line of crimson fluid that connected the wound to the floor, the blood didn't seem to be moving. It seemed to be frozen – as if it had suddenly turned to ice.

Diablo started chuckling.

"NO!" Moran shouted.

The blood started flowing back into Diablo's wound, from the ground and back into his flesh. He stood up and watched as the flesh in his wound slowly started to heal.

"Is this all you can do, mortal?" Diablo hissed.

"NO!" Moran screamed.

Then Kail saw it. He saw all of it again.

Moran ran towards Diablo, swinging her staff so that the bladed end was pointed to the heavens. Diablo turned to her, shouting his fury. She slid the last few feet that was remaining between her and Diablo and shoved the bladed end of the staff into his throat.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Kail screamed.

He knew that it was going to happen. Again. Diablo's spiked tail was going to swing, and he was going to tear Moran in half.

Tear his love in half.

It was going to happen.

He held his eyes open, preparing for it to happen.

Moran screamed her rage, holding the spiked end of the staff and shoved it up the Beast's throat as far as it would go, trying to reach for its brain.

Kail dropped his sword and shield, releasing his hands so that he could push her away before the spiked tail would get her.

He ran and each breath tearing its way out of his lungs so painfully he could have imagined his ribs breaking and the sharp edges of bone burying itself into his lungs.

Moran gave a final cry and shoved the staff. Diablo screamed with terror as the blade pushed its way out of his skull, pushing the Soul Stone from his forehead. The red jewel seemed to freeze in the air.

He grabbed onto her shoulders, ready to shove her away, but then he saw it. Diablo's tail. He prepared for it, waiting for the razor sharp spikes to hit his body. Hit his body instead of Moran's.

The Paladin leapt and placed his body between his and Diablo.

"NO!"

He and Moran were swept back along with Ollan, but all he felt was a dull thump that echoed through his bones, and he felt one of his ribs crack. He hit the ground with a brutal force and the Paladin's blood splattered over both of them. Blood ran down his field of vision.

"OLLAN!" He cried.

Moran scrambled up to the other side of the Paladin and took his hand. "Ollan, don't…"

"It's over, finished," the Paladin said, blood trickling out of his mouth. "Diablo's gone."

Diablo…gone. A pillar of flame erupted at his place, breaking through the roof of the Sanctuary and breaking through Hell.

Dead. Forever. No longer will the Lord of Terror reign on Earth or Hell.

Moran was crying silently. She cradled Ollan's head on her lap. "Your cloak," she whispered to Kail. "Cover his body."

Kail removed his cloak from his shoulders and used it to cover Ollan's lower body that was torn into shreds of hanging flesh.

Thorn and Nikan came to his side.

"Valhalla awaits," Nikan said, reaching down to touch Ollan on his shoulder. "Go there, Ollan."

Kail clutched at his head, shaking violently. The moment of Diablo's death that was supposed to be a time of joy and celebration was nothing more than pain and grief.

"God be with you, my friend," Thorn said, dropping down on one knee. "Ollan."

"You did well," Kail said, looking up to the heavens. "You did well."

Ollan managed to smile before closing his eyes.

Kail threw his head up and roared.

Moran picked up Diablo's glittering Soul Stone, and she held it against her for a moment, looking at it. It was more beautiful than she had ever imagined – yet it was such an evil thing.

She looked up and saw Kail walking towards her, his eyes unfocused and his steps wandering. She winced as she reached towards him, the wound on her shoulder crying out in pain. He silently placed his arm around her and they walked away from the Sanctuary. Every once in a while, he'd turn his head and Moran knew that he was looking at Thorn, who was carrying Ollan's body, wrapped in Kail's cloak.

They walked out of the Sanctuary to the Hellforge, and Kail handed her the hammer. She placed the Soul Stone on the anvil and lifted the hammer high over his head.

She brought it down on Diablo's Soul Stone and it broke into shards of the most brilliant colored stones – like crystallized blood slowly turning back into liquid. It was the end. The voices of a thousand spirits that had been tortured killed by the Beast rose from the shards, and melted away into the darkness. Lightning and fire shot across the celestials, confirming the end to Terror.

"YOUR darkest hour, Diablo!" She cried, holding the hammer. "And our greatest moment!"

She let the hammer fall. "The Harrowing is finished."

She collapsed on Kail's shoulder and sobbed.

** _6 Hours Later, Kurast_**

****

Ollan's body was removed of the tainted armor he wore, what was left of his body washed and covered with oil. A glorious, shimmering piece of cloth was place over his lower body as he lay on the pedestal inside a large stone structure at the Docks of Kurast, as if he was sleeping and not dead.

Moran kissed him on his forehead and stepped back.

"He saved us," Kail said.

"I know," Moran answered him as he slid his arm around her. They walked out of Ollan's resting place and outside in the darkness. The people were laughing, singing and celebrating Diablo's death, but the Five – no; the remaining Four Heroes were away from the singing voices and laughter, each mourning Ollan's death in their own way.

"You're free to go," Kail said, as they reached an end of the pier. He sat down.

"Free to go? Where?" Moran asked, as she touched the heavy bandage around her shoulder. She was going to have many scars from this battle…to remind her of what happened. She sat down next to the Necromancer and gently pulled back a lock of Kail's white hair from his face so that she could see his eyes better.

"Tyrael can open the doorway into your world again, he told me," Kail said. "You can go."

"And why would I go?" Moran asked him gently. She took his hand. "My place is here…with…" she trailed off. "I don't belong in my world anymore, Kail. But know this: I am not your former lover. I am Moran, not Moranah. You need to know that."

She was afraid, afraid that he might lash out at her.

"Moranah's gone," Kail said after a moment. "Dead."

"I know."

"Will you stay with me?" He asked her, finally turning to focus his green eyes into hers. "Will you stay with me, a Necromancer?"

"Yes," she said. "I will. I'll stay, Kail."

"Then I'll stay with you."

The burden lifted a bit.

Rain started falling and they walked back inside the shelter they were sharing. Thorn and Nikan would be leaving for their homes – Nikan to the South, and Thorn back to his Barbarian Highlands. Moran didn't know where Kail was going, but where he was going, she would go with him.

Till Death draw them apart.

She opened their trunk and pulled out weapons she didn't need, things she would sell before they leave in the morning. She pulled out a few useless daggers and Kail's armor that desperately needed repairing when her fingers clinked against a vial of some sort.

Odd…she didn't remember keeping vials inside the armor chest because it might accidentally break. She pulled it out and froze.

It was the Elixir of Life. The Elixir of Life that she had never given to Ollan.

She didn't even realize that she had left the shelter, clutching the Elixir in her hands. She vaguely heard Kail calling out for her, but she didn't care.

She ran into Ollan's tomb, the torches flickering a way for her. Gasping, she tore the cork off the vial with her teeth, and with her fingers she held his lips open.

She tipped the bottle into his lips and watched as the shimmering essence of life itself move to his lips.

She half expected the essence to pour from his lips, as water would when it is poured inside a corpse's lips. But the essence seemed to turn into a light, shimmering powder that slowly melted into his lips and disappeared.

"Please…" she prayed. "Please…"

Nothing happened.

She cried out and flung the bottle at the wall opposite her. "WHY?" She screamed. "WHY!"

Kail appeared at the tomb, a look of disbelief on his face.

"It didn't…work…" Moran whimpered.

Kail pushed past her and ripped the cloth covering Ollan's lower body.

It was no longer torn, no longer broken.

Ollan's eyes flew open and he gasped, trying to breath. Moran cried out in joy as she took his hands as he violently coughed, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Kail grabbed his hand and shouted. "Ollan, we're here! Ollan, open your eyes."

Ollan gasped again, his back arching. He fell off the pedestal and coughed again, but his eyes were finally focusing.

Moran took Kail's other hand and squeezed it tightly.

Ollan leaned against the pedestal, his naked body covered in sweat and his eyes focused onto the world around him.

"I saw it," Ollan whispered. "Heaven. Valhalla."

"But it's not your time," Kail said.

"Not my time," Ollan said. "Not written in my destiny…"

They helped the Paladin up and Moran threw the discarded cloth over his shoulders. They each took an arm and slung it over their shoulders as they slowly walked away from his tomb.

"I'm back," Ollan said, as he looked up at the raining sky, where a few clouds had already broken away and they could see a few stars. "It's not bad…Death…" He said.

Two figures moved towards them, and Moran knew it was Thorn and Nikan.

"We heard something," the Amazon said. "Is everything…"

Her voice trailed off and she clutched at Thorn as they realized whom it was that Kail and Moran were supporting on their shoulders.

Moran threw her head back and laughed, and she caught Kail's eyes. He smiled at her and she reached over Ollan to touch him. He took her hand with his free one and kissed her fingers.

The War to end Terror's Reign was finally over.

And they can all have hope again.

The End 

__


	21. The Jester's Blood: Prologue and Betraye...

**Hey guys! Here comes the long-awaited sequel to Time Blood. I present you "The Jester's Blood". The title isn't very significant, but the reason for "Jester" was because the first time I laid my eyes on Baal, I instantly thought "Court Jester". The guy doesn't look very threatening. And being The Lord of Destruction, he should look more…er…destructing! I wished they had kept Mephisto around instead of Mr. Baal – he looked a lot cooler.**

**And if any of you wonder why I'm suddenly not updating or anything, you can peak into a bit of my life at ?user=lightnexon" my online journal and it's updated a few times a week. Or, go ahead and read "Gilead's Blight", a story I'm co-writing with a friend. You can find the story here: ?storyid=1648702"**

**So I present to you, the sequel. Enjoy J And thanks for the reviews, people! I love all of you – I really do!**

**And last thing – the sequel will continue to be placed along with the original Timeblood fanfiction. **

**The Jester's Blood**: Prologue and Betrayers

The Towers within the Forests of Scosglen were gargantuan stone towers covered with the thickest of vines and ivies, so that any passerby that were not familiar with the way of the Druids would sometimes mistake them for ancient trunks of trees. But on close inspection, one would find that they were towers – towers where the Druids of the North studied their ancient magic of working in harmony with nature, where they worshipped the Gods of the old…and where they transformed into terrifying beasts at will.

A Druid emerged from the forests and he slowly walked from the thicket of oak and stone towers to emerge on a cliff overlooking the seas of the North, where the water was extremely cold, unlike that of Lut Gholein. He walked to the Cairn of Stones overlooking the waters and laid his head against the cool surface.

His hair was the color of blood, and wounded together in a braided knot that fell down his back in a thick strand that reached the back of his knees. His eyes were that of the ivy leaves in the forest, and dark eyebrows drew close together in anger above them. Although he looked no older than that of twenty-six, his eyes held the secrets of the ancient ways of his people that gave his whole face a rather aged, yet noble look of his race of warrior-poet kings.

Dire threw his head back and roared, then slammed his fist into the side of the Stone. He drew his fist back, his chest heaving angrily as blood trickled down his knuckles. The knot work on the stone mysteriously absorbed his blood, taking in the organic energy inside.

_Baal lives._

_Baal still lives because of the Five._

"Don't hurt yourself this way, Dire."

He angrily spun around and saw Deirdre, his grandmother and High Priestess of the Druid, and a patron to the goddess Epona. He looked away as the white-haired woman stepped close to him and took his hand.

"It is not his fault."

"Baal lives," Dire said, feeling the healing energy Deirdre drew from the forest slowly filling his hand. "Baal still lives."

"It is nobody's fault, and you shouldn't blame anyone," Deirdre released his hand and Dire saw that the broken bones and flesh were healed.

"And what do you expect me to do?" Dire said bitterly.

"It is time," Deirdre said. "For you to leave these forests and travel to Harrogath. It is the time of Uileloscadh Mór – the final battle between the forces of the Burning Hell, and of man."

"Travel to _Harrogath_? The land of the Barbarians? The land that should have rightfully been ours but is now controlled by heathens and savages?" Dire hissed. "We have vowed never to set foot in the Steppes of Mount Arreat – "

"Until the time of Uileloscadh Mór, Dire!" Deirdre took her grandson's hand and he roughly pulled away. "And is time!"

"It is not my duty. Tell some other Chieftain to do this."

"You turn away from this task that was given to you because you do not want to go back to him," Deirdre said. "You were chosen, and you shall go."

Dire didn't realize he had sunk his teeth into his lips until he felt warm liquid seep from the thin skin to flow freely down his neck and across the tattoo of knots that started from his neck and covered half of his torso, where it was hidden underneath the thick leather jerkin and fur cloak that he wore. "I do not wish to see the Betrayer again."

"It is your duty as head of our tribe, to travel to Harrogath, and it is time to put aside our differences, and unite together as one to fight this final battle,' Deirdre said.

Dire shut his eyes. "Tell me what to do."

"You must travel to the Tamoe Highlands, to the Sisters of the Sightless Eye. Go and see the Rogues," Deirdre straightened up, her voice taking full authority of that of a High Priestess. "Then alert the Necromancer – alert the Necromancer, that Baal still lives."

Jester's Blood 1: Betrayers 

Moran opened her eyes and watched as the gossamer curtains hanging from the canopy bed slowly move, as if they were the wings of some large, mystical insect. She shut her eyes against the glare of the early sun and twisted away from the light.

She held up her arm and looked at the long, pale scar running from her wrist to her elbow. Just last evening, the scar was a fresh, crimson wound, an abrasion made by running the side of her arm along the blade of a sword and holding the cut over a golden chalice so that her blood could mingle with Kail's.

She turned to the Necromancer lying at her side and eyed the identical white scar on his arm. The blood ritual they had performed was a symbolism of sacrifice – that for as long as she lived, she would be willing to give up her life for him and he for hers. They had held the cuts on their arms together and let the blood form into a bright red carbuncle, which she wore as a roughly cut gem hanging by a leather cord on her neck.

Slowly, she slid her legs over the bed and pushed the curtains away. Walking softly as not to awake Kail, she made her way to the window and looked outside. The sun was still at its early stages of lightning up the world, and it gave off a silvery glow. She leaned on her elbows as she surveyed the thicket of trees where the tops of the Rogues' monastery could be seen peeking out from the thick leaves.

She felt Kail's arms circle around her middle and pulled her close to his chest. "You shouldn't stand so close to the window naked. Someone might see."

She didn't bother to turn around. "This early in the morning? And in the middle of the woods? This _is_ a ranger's cabin, Kail."

He didn't answer her, but instead bit her hard on the shoulder. She gasped and whirled around, shoving him away from her. "That hurt!" She said, rubbing her shoulder and winced as she felt the teeth marks. "Kail!"

He smirked at her and dropped down on his back in the bed, pulling his bare arms underneath his head, green eyes locked on the wooden ceiling. Moran shook her head and opened the large trunk next to the canopy bed, pulling out a leather skirt and a cream colored shirt. "So, where to next?"

Kail rolled on his front and pulled a pillow underneath his chin. "What do you mean?"

"The rogues aren't going to let us stay here forever. They're just lending it to us," Moran pulled on the skirt and shirt and picked up a brush from the dresser. She tossed it at Kail. "Brush your hair."

"Why?" Kail asked, catching the brush in midair.

"You were in such a hurry to leave last night that you forgotten to tell the rogues thanks for everything they did for us," she said, jerking on her shirt. "You better go now before they get caught up in sanctifying the Monastery – you'll never catch one of them available for talking if they do."

Kail groaned and reluctantly sat up, taking the pair of black pants she offered him. "Why can't you go?" He asked, pulling on the pants and standing up to tie the laces.

Moran was about to answer him when she noticed the scars on his body. She held the same scars, a reminder of the past horrors both of them fought against.

But it was over. The Three Prime Evils were gone.

"Moran?"

"Because you're leader," she said, roughly tying a cord around his white hair. "It wouldn't be right for me to tell them, and besides, I already thanked them last night. You have to do it to."

They went the spiraling wooden staircase and passed the rather quaint kitchen with the only door that led outside. Moran took in a deep breath of the morning air and lifted her face up to catch the few quiet rays of sunlight that managed to stream through the thick trees.

"When I come back, there better be something to eat," Kail grumbled as he pulled on his boots. "I think the Rogues left something for us in the kitchen – "

"Just go," she pushed him towards the empty trail that would lead him to the Monastery. "But don't take your time."

He grinned at her and disappeared into the shadows. She sat down on the steps leading down from the door to the forest floor and leaned against the railing, quietly taking in the silence and the light of the forest.

A twig snapped after a few minutes and her eyes flew open. She leapt up on her feet and her eyes searched frantically for whatever made the noise. She took two steps up the stairs and reached for the spear that the Rogues had forgotten to remove from the cabin. Her hands circle around the crude weapon that was lying next to the frame of the door.

A large wolf, larger than she had ever seen emerged from the trail and stood stock still about ten meters from the cabin. Puzzled, Moran cautiously left her place at the door and approached it.

She stopped walking, halting at the last step of the stairs when a large figure walked from the trail and stood next to the wolf. He was shrouded in a heavy gray fur cloak with the hood pulled up so she could not make out his face, much less who he was. He held an ornate compound bow in a gloved hand and a quiver of arrows hung from his back. The hilt of a jeweled bastard sword jutted out from his back, held by a large bandolier.

"What do you want?" She asked, placing the blunt end of the spear down on the ground. "I am no Rogue, and if you have business with them, then go to the Monastery."

The man didn't answer her, but unhooked the bandolier from his back and laid the weapon on the ground. He took off his quiver of arrows and rested it next to the sword, and finally, the bow went down to join the other weapons. It was a sign that he was not going to attack her – at least, not with his weapons.

"The Rogues said I would find the Necromancer here," the man said, his voice quiet. "That I would find him with the Sorceress."

"What do you want with him?" Moran asked. "What business do you have?"

The man strode up to her, and she quickly took a step back, swinging the spear into her other hand. She nearly tripped over the stair, but the man grabbed her arm, his face inches from hers. She peered into his hood, trying to make out his face. A dark cloth covered every inch of skin underneath his eyes, veiling it. But the glittering eyes that glared at her with anger from underneath the hood disturbed her – there was something very familiar.

She jerked her arm away. "Back off," she said. But he leaned closer to her, his fingers reaching for the hollow of her throat. She grabbed his wrist as he touched the bloodstone.

"A sacrificial bloodstone," the man said, holding it up so it caught the sun, sending clear red lights across their faces. "Tell me, Sorceress, would you truly die for him?"

Her hand that was gripping his wrist started shaking as she fought to push him away. "What do you want?" She hissed.

"I bring dire news," the man said, releasing the bloodstone but he stayed close to her. Before she knew it, he grabbed the spear from her other hand and hit her hard on the chest with a flat, open palm. Air shot from her lungs and her legs failed as they caught the top rung of the stairs. He pushed her against the wall, one hand around her throat, and the other pressing up against her chest so she couldn't move.

"I bring dire news indeed," he leaned close to her so that his lips were inches away from her ears. "The one you thought was dead lives."

Moran felt her heart stop. "What…are you talking about?"

Moran cried out as she felt something snaking up her legs and saw a creeping vine wrapped around her ankle. Starting to panic, she saw the same glowing vine making its way around her arms.

"I wouldn't move," the man said. "They're poisonous, you know, and they'll dig their sharp little thorns into your skin when I tell them to."

Moran shut her eyes and slowly searched the air surrounding her for energy particles. Taking in the energy, she transformed the smallest building blocks of the elements that she drew inside her to radiate cold air from the areas of her body where the vines were wrapped around.

"So you talk to plants?" She said, ignoring her racing heart as she felt the plants slowly being frozen into blocks of ice.

"Such is the way," the man said, "Of the Druids."

Moran swung her left leg and the vines holding it broke into sharp silvers of frozen crystal. Distracted by the sudden motion, the man released his hold and she pushed her way past him. She picked up the discarded spear and gritting her teeth, she faced him.

"What do you want?" She whispered.

"If I had it my way, Sorceress," the man said, angrily. "I would have both your life and the Necromancer's."

Anger and heat rushed through her, and first burst on her arms. Screaming her rage, she rammed the spear into the ground, and shot a jet flame of Inferno towards the man.

But there was something wrong. Instead of screaming in pain or running away, the man was standing still. In fact…sweat ran down her face as she struggled to hold the spell up – the man was using another spell against hers. A spell that mimicked her Inferno – but instead of being a flame of fire – his was ice!

"Typical of a Sorceress," the man said over the roar of ice and fire, sound neither breathless nor tired, as if holding back her powerful spell didn't take him much of an effort.

"What do you want?" She whispered, her energy draining. "Who are you?"

"_You_?"

Concentration broken, both the ice and fire spells broke as both of them turned to the speaker. Kail stood in the clearing, his hands curled into angry fists at his side and his green eyes blazing. Moran felt her pounding heart leave its place in her chest as she gazed at him. She had never seen the look of fury on his face before – not even when they were down in the bowels of Hell.

But in that look of fury, was also pain.

"_You_?" Kail hissed. The dire wolf at the man's side growled, every hair on its back rising.

"Yes," the man said. "It's me."

With a cry of fury, Kail ran and tackled the man with his entire body. The man grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down with him. But before he even hit the ground, the man rammed his foot into Kail's stomach and sent him flying over his head. Kail rolled twice before coming up to his knee, a short dagger in his hands.

"Kail! Don't – " She cried, but it was too late. Kail wasted no time in leaping on the man again, but this time, he had him on the ground before he could be thrown.

"Stay back!" Kail shouted as she ran towards them. She saw him pull back the man's hood and the cloth wrapped around his face in an attempt to claw at his eyes. A shock of braided hair the color of blood, as thick as a horse's tail and almost longer than one fell from the hood as he failed to send his fist into Kail's face.

Then both of them froze.

Kail was holding the man by his hair, pulling his head back so that his pale throat was exposed. He had the dagger, now glowing a sickly green, under the man's chin. But the same vines that had just wrapped around her legs now had Kail by the throat.

"How fitting," the man said, looking up at Kail. "Two men separated for over a decade, only to be brought back together and killed by the same poison. Perhaps we should have your sorceress tell this tale after both of us are dead – it is quite worthy of becoming a story."

Kail didn't move.

"Let me go," the man said. "I'm not here to kill you, even though it's quite tempting."

Kail drew his dagger from the man's skin and cautiously removed his knees from the man's thighs. He stood up and sheathed his dagger, watching the man with a wary eye. The other man stood up and Moran felt her jaw drop.

"Moran," Kail said, his tone dripping with anger and sarcasm. "Meet my brother – "

"Do not taint my name by saying it, Necromancer," the man said, getting up.

"My brother," Kail said, rolling an angry eye to look at him. "Dire."

"But – " Moran said, placing a hand on her chest. "You're – you're twins!"

Her eyes bounced back rhythmically as she took in the two men standing in front of her – Kail and his brother, Dire. It was almost like she was staring at a double image, despite Dire's heavy clothing that was meant for colder areas and Kail's lighter garments. Also, Dire was a few inches taller and had a heavier build than Kail did, who had more of a lean frame. But the most striking difference between both of them was that Dire's hair was a dark red, contrasting to Kail's white and was almost four times longer. There was a tattoo on Dire's face that was absent on Kail's – a complex knot work that extended from above his left eyebrow, down his face, and traveling down his neck where it disappeared underneath the collar of the cloak.

But other than that, she was staring at twins. Both of them had the same stance of holding themselves, the same way of cautiously taking in the environment and looking for danger. Now she knew why she had found Dire's eyes disturbingly familiar – they were Kail's eyes. The same emotional, glittering eyes that resembled liquid emeralds held up against the sun.

Kail kept a wary eye on Dire as he stood next to her. "What do you want?" He hissed.

"I'm here as a messenger, on behalf of the Druids of the Scosglen Forests," Dire said, removing his cloak by jerking it across his shoulder, revealing a form-fitting leather armor that covered him from underneath his chin down to the studded leather boots. "And I did not come because I want to, _brother_, but because I had to, as chieftain of my tribe."

A muscle jumped in Kail's jaw. "Save that," he said. "We can reminisce old times later. What news?"

"You've betrayed us all, Heroes," Dire said, letting the cloak fall and crossing his arms across his wide chest and fixed his eyes on Kail. "And you, have played your role as Betrayer for the second time. But this time, you did not merely betrayed a tribe – you've betrayed the entire world."

"My patience doesn't last, Dire," Kail said. "What is the message?"

"Baal lives," Dire said. "And thanks to your Heroes, he's doing quite splendidly in the summit of Mt. Arreat."


	22. The Jester's Bood: Trap

**Again, kudos to all of my wonderful readers. You guys rock! Diablo is © to Blizzard, and woe to me that I don't own it. **

**The Jester's Blood Chapter 2: Trap**

Kail's eyes blazed. "What are you talking about? Baal is dead."

An ironic smile crossed Dire's face. "Is he, Necromancer?"

Moran frowned, her heart beating furiously as the blood in her veins ran cold. "Baal is dead…Tyrael sent a man named Marius to the Hellforge where he destroyed the soulstone – "

Dire laughed. "Tell me, Sorceress, do you think a man – a man as dim-witted and weak as Marius – could travel halfway through Hell and survive as you and the rest of your Heroes hardly made it back in one piece?"

Kail looked away. "I don't believe this."

"LISTEN TO ME!" Dire took two giant steps towards Kail and faced him. "Marius is dead, you fools! He did not even attempt to take the soulstone to the Hellforge – he wandered through the world and landed himself in a prison – with the soulstone in his hands! And a man visited him…a man he took to be Tyrael," Dire turned and looked at Moran, his eyes forming slits as his chest heaved in anger. "But it wasn't Tyrael. It wasn't him."

Dire formed a fist with his right hand, his shoulder shaking. "It wasn't Tyrael. And Marius is dead…killed by the man he took to be Tyrael…KILLED BY BAAL HIMSELF!!" Dire screamed his last words.

"You…lie…" Kail said after a moment of heavy silence.

Shaking, Moran grabbed his hand. "Kail, if Baal is alive, then we would've have heard something from Thorn. He's at Harrogath."

"Oh, yes, I've forgot," Dire said, rudely interrupting her. "You travel with a Barbarian, Kail. You travel with the very same people that took our lands away from us – "

"Kail," she grabbed his arm and looked at Dire. "Excuse us for a moment…"

She pulled Kail away into a thicket of trees, far away from Dire's eyes and ears. She roughly pushed him up against a tree. "Kail, listen, if Baal is alive, then we've got a problem."

"He's lying."

"Is your brother the type that lies?" She hissed. "From what I've seen, I don't think he's lying."

Kail looked away.

"You need to go see the Rogues," Moran said. "If Baal is indeed still alive, then Thorn would've sent word. He left two weeks ago – he'll be at Harrogath by now."

"I don't – "

"Kail, this is serious," Moran said, crossing her arms in front his chest. "I don't know what's going on between you and your brother, but if Baal is alive…" she bit her lip. "You need to go see the Rogues. I don't want to believe Baal is alive, either, but…"

"I know," Kail said, rubbing his forehead. "If Baal is alive…" He shook his head and took a deep breath.

Moran watched him walk down the trail until he disappeared. She returned back to the clearing where Dire was waiting for her, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. He looked up at her.

"Where's the Necromancer?" He asked.

"Off to see the Rogues," Moran answered him. "And both of us do have names in case you haven't noticed, so you can quit being rude, and start calling us – "

Dire glared at her. "I'll call you what I wish…_Sorceress_."

Moran bit her lip. "It's _Moran_."

He stood still and Moran locked her eyes on his. Despite his aggressive and rude words, she didn't believe that he was a bad person. Whatever that happened between him and Kail was probably why he was acting the way he was. She took in a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips.

"Did you have breakfast yet?"

Surprised, Dire looked up at her quizzically. "What?"

"Breakfast. Baal be alive or not, we still need to eat," she said. "So did you have breakfast yet?"

Dire looked confused. "I…no."

"Well then, come on in," Moran walked past him and swung open the door. "And bring your weapons inside."

Still looking confused, Dire picked up his weapons and cloak, and followed her inside. The wolf halted at the door and lay down on the porch, watching their every move with large yellow eyes. Moran took Dire's weapons from his hands and looked for a place to put them.

"Sit," she said.

"Why are you doing this?" Dire asked.

"Doing what?" Moran set the weapons down on the stairs leading up the second floor after failing to find a better place to put them.

Dire shook his head and sat down at the circular table. Moran opened the large cupboard and pulled out several leather packages of dried meat and two round pieces of bread. She set them down in front of Dire and with a mental thought, sent the dead embers in the fireplace alive and burning.

"Flashy magic," Dire muttered.

Moran ignored him and sat down opposite the Druid. "What is it that you have against Dire?" She asked him.

"Do you love him?" Dire asked, pausing in the process of tearing a chunk of meat in half.

"What?"

"If you love him," Dire said. "Then get _his_ side of the story. Because if you get mine, you might not love him anymore."

Moran's hands shook. "You called him the Betrayer. _What_ did he do?"

Dire said nothing and looked away, casting his eyes away from hers as if he was tired. Moran savagely bit into the bread and meat, and they ate in silence. Moran tossed a rather large piece of dried meat at the wolf, but it ignored it.

"Leave him," Dire said. "He's a spirit wolf."

"I don't…understand," Moran said.

"A spirit wolf," Dire said again, retrieving the meat. He threw it into the fire and both of them watched as sparks flew from the flame.

"Was Kail a…Druid before?" Moran asked.

Dire snorted. "Sorceress, ten years ago, his hair was as red as mine."

Moran gave up trying to ask Dire any more questions about Kail's past. He was unwilling to talk to her, and even less willing to tell her of anything she wanted to know about Kail. She cleared the meat and bread off the table, leaving a significant portion for Kail when he came back from the Rogues.

"Dire…" she said, and the red-haired man looked up at her. "That ice spell you used to counter my Inferno…what is it?"

"It's not a spell," Dire snorted.

Moran took a deep breath and kept her temper down. "Then what is it? Enlighten me, _Druid_, because I don't know of your ways."

"We have learned the secrets of nature long ago," Dire said. "We've long since learned to talk to plants and to animals, and even to the unseen forces. The spell that I used to counter yours is called the Artic Blast – a simple summoning of ice with the aid from the North Wind."

"You speak as if the other arts aren't worthy of your Druidic skills, Dire," Moran licked her dry lips.

"Tell me, Sorceress," Dire said. "Is summoning the dead that are suppose to be at rest, cursing your enemies, and calling forth the spirits from the realm of the dead _worthy_?"

Moran clutched at the table. "Kail does it for a good cause."

"Oh, does he?" Dire snarled. "Oh, here he comes."

Kail emerged at the doorway, pausing to give Dire a look of resentment before coming to her. He took her hand and pulled her up from the stool. Ignoring Dire, he led her up the stairs into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. He placed a folded piece of vellum into Moran's hands

"It arrived this morning," Kail said solemnly. "Akara and the Rogues didn't want to tell us."

With her fingers shaking slightly, Moran unfolded the soiled piece of sheepskin.

_To Moran and Kail,_

_I pray that this note finds you in time. Although my heart breaks to bring you unhappy news at this time, I must tell you this: Baal is alive. He has taken siege of Harrogath of the Barbarian Highlands, and is determine to corrupt the worldstone that lies beneath the summit. Know this: you MUST come to Harrogath. Baal's minions have captured many of our people, and much worse, he has sought to corrupt the Worldstone – the only thing that prevents earth from being overrun by the forces of Hell._

_I cannot say more. I have already written to the Druidic tribes of Scosglen, asking for them to send a representative to you. I have not yet informed this matter to Nikan and Ollan. You must do it. Come quickly to Harrogath – the Druid will lead you._

_Thorn_

Moran covered her eyes and let the vellum fall down on the ground. "So it's true?" She whispered.

"Thorn sent us the message by a hawk," Kail said. "He must not be able to leave the city – because if he could, he would. I've already sent word to Nikan and Ollan."

Moran took a deep breath and slid down on the floor. The dark, cruel memories came back to her and she felt every scar from the battle she had fought burn on her body. Even though she knew from the start that Dire wasn't lying, a small part of her had refused to believe that Baal was still alive. But now that the evidence was in her hands, it hit her hard and painful.

She stood up and walked to the large closet opposite the canopy bed. She threw it the heavy doors open and reached inside. Her hands brushed against the soft folds of the cream colored silk dress that she wore at the sacrificial ceremony just the night before and an unexpected feeling of her heart sinking overcame her.

She reached in deeper until she felt the hard leather and metal of her armor.

She stood at the top of the hill overlooking the Rogues' Monastery and tried to control her chattering teeth. It was barely five in the morning and the sun wasn't up yet. Moran's only source of warmth was the light cloak she had thrown over her shoulders hastily after Kail woke her up.

She shivered and moved closer to Kail as a gust of wind threatened to chill her to her bones. She leaned into him and pulled the cloak around her shoulders. "It's too early and cold for this," she muttered.

She could almost feel Kail grin. "One needs to get up early to save the world."

She tried to smile back, but only succeeded in shivering again. She saw Dire looking at them at the corner of his eye but quickly looked away when he caught her eye. Frowning, he turned his back to them.

Moran gasped and pointed as she saw the white light at the bottom of the hill. "There she is!"

The white light in the distance was actually a pure white stallion that no less than seventeen hands high, and the contrast between the light coat and the dark forest seemed to make the horse glow against the shadows. Nikan sat high on the saddle, dressed in a full-plate armor covered with gold. Her head was left bare and her blonde tresses braided down her back. Her saddle was ornately carved and covered in gold as well. Ollan was behind her on a dark horse of an unidentified color, so the two must have met somewhere along the way. The Paladin wasn't garbed as elaborately as Nikan was, but his jeweled helm and banner of his order gave him a noble look.

Kail whistled at Nikan's ensemble. "I can see that her Sisters treated her well when she returned. That's pure gold covering her armor."

Moran threw back her cloak and ran to Nikan who dismounted so fast her horse hardly had time to come to a full stop. Nikan held her in a tight hug and despite the circumstances of why they were here, she was happy to see her friends. She slipped away from Nikan's hold and took the Paladin's hand.

"One could hardly believe it's been over a month since we've last fought together," Ollan removed his helm and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He solemnly looked at Kail over his shoulder. Moran saw Kail reach over and gripped his left shoulder, holding onto the area where he was impaled on a long piece of bone in the dungeons of Kurast, and Moran knew he was remembering the Paladin's sacrifice for him. Ollan placed a hand on his other shoulder.

"Brother," Ollan said.

Kail nodded.

"Kail," Nikan said and wrapped her arms around him, beaming. "I wish I could see the both of you in happier times."

"Don't we all?" Kail said.

"Should I introduce myself or should I play the part of a garden ornament?" Dire suddenly spoke.

Both Nikan's and Ollan's faces bore the same looks of confusion and bewilderment when they saw Dire.

"My brother," Kail mumbled.

"My name is Dire and I am here as a representative of the Druids of the Scosglen Forest," Dire said. "And also as Chieftain of my tribe," he stared hard at Kail as he spoke the word "chieftain".

"We welcome you," Ollan said. Dire looked at him and nodded. If the two of them wanted to ask questions on how Dire was related to Kail, they showed no signs of it.

"We need to ride to Harrogath as soon as possible," Kail said. "Harrogath is under siege and Baal seeks to corrupt the Worldstone. I don't know how long it took for Thorn's message to reach us…"

"It's not that simple, Kail," Dire said. "Harrogath is under siege – the mountains will be crawling with his legion of hell spawn and monsters. We can't just waltz in there - "

"If I remembered correctly, we did waltz through hordes of monsters before, Dire," Kail answered his brother coolly. "We waltzed so far that we went into Hell itself and made it back."

"Harrogath's only dangers aren't just the demons Baal released," Dire said. "The land is covered with steep cliffs, frozen lakes ready to break, and an avalanche could happen at any second. And I hardly think that any of you are familiar with the territory."

"Are you saying you are?" Kail snapped.

"The tribes have sent scouts to the Barbarian Highlands ever since the news of Baal's return have reached the shores of the Scosglen forest," Dire said. "And they have made a safer route for us to travel to Harrogath."

"Are you telling me to give up my position as Leader here to you?" Kail challenged him.

A cruel smile spread across Dire's face. "Well, that's a surprise Kail, the fact that you're so unwilling to give up your position as Leader. And now I wonder why you were so willing to give it up before."

Before things got worse, Moran laid a hand on Kail's shoulder. "Kail, if Dire knows the way, then he should lead the way for us. We don't need someone to die on the way before we even start the real battle."

Kail made an angry sound deep in his throat. He flipped his wand from his belt and held it at Dire. "Very well. You can show us the way to Harrogath, but I'm warning you…if you lead any of us into danger – "

"Danger is always there whether you like it or not," Dire said.

"Fine," Kail bent his head down as he walked past Dire. "And if you know what's good for you, keep your hands off her."

"Off who?" Dire said, looking straight at Moran.

Moran tied the last leather cord on her vambrace and used her teeth to pull it knot tight. She looked at the mirror on the dresser. Her hair was pulled back and tightly braided away from her face. She wore a skin fitting leather suit lined with fur at the collar and the end of the long sleeves, and over that was a form-fitting brass breastplate. The leather and metal vambraces and brass shin guards over long leather boots completed the outfit.

Her weapons and other equipment was laid out on the bed, untouched since the Harrowing. The leather shone with a new polish and Moran knew that one of the Rogues had taken them in and cleaned them for her. The belt was filled with healing and mana potions, and even a few bottles of antidotes.

She strapped the belt around her waist and heard someone knock on the door. "I'm almost done, Kail," she called. "Come on in if you want."

"It's not Kail."

"Dire?" She quickly finished strapping the belt and crossed the room to open the door. "Do you need anything?"

Dire held out his fur cloak.

"But…Kail's getting them," she said lamely, bewildered at the fact that Dire would offer her anything.

"If you think the 'fur cloaks' Kail's getting is going to protect you against anything, you better think again," Dire said.

Moran quizzically took the cloak from Dire and looked up at him. By his stance and words, he wasn't giving her the cloak to try and gain a favor, nor was he trying to get her to think differently on him. It was more of something that a responsible caretaker or healer would do, even though they might dislike the patient.

But then, Dire was a chieftain, and even though there might have been people he hated in his tribe, he still knew he had to care for them.

"Thank…you," she said. "But really, it's all right – "

Dire went down the stairs without another word, leaving her standing at the door and holding the heavy cloak in her hands. Still feeling confused and slightly miffed at the fact that Dire thought it was she, not Nikan or Ollan that needed the most protection from the cold.

She placed the cloak down on the bed and picked up the jeweled spiked staff. The familiarity of the wooden base felt comfortable in her hands and she swung it in an arc and brought it down on an invisible enemy in front of her.

The door creaked open and this time she knew it was Kail. She gently laid the staff down on the bed.

"What is that…doing in here?" Kail asked, looking at Dire's fur cloak.

"He gave it to me because he didn't want Harrogath's climate to bring me down," she said in a teasing voice to prevent him from getting angry. "Do I really seem that weak?"

"Why did he give it to you?" Kail said dangerously.

"I told you," Moran took the parcel containing the fur cloaks from his hands and threw them on the bed. She placed her hands on her hips and looked straight at him. "I think you need to explain to me what's going on between you and him. That way I'll know how to deal with a situation that involves the two of you trying to slice each other open."

Kail suddenly looked more tired than she had ever seen him and he sank down on the mattress, running a hand through the loose strands of his white hair. Moran sat down next to him and tried to take his hand but he walked away from her and stood in front of the window.

"Dire and I were born to a strong Druidic tribe in the Forests of Scosglen," Kail said. "Our father was the chieftain, so naturally, the role of chieftain would pass on to either me or Dire."

"Both of us were nearly born at the same time – but Dire was older by two minutes," he continued. "And he was more of the leader in everything we did. He was better at summoning, better at communicating with the natural world, and more ambitious, while I was more of the passive player. It wasn't something I minded though, the fact that Dire was more of the leader."

"Then the time came when our father died, the energy of the natural world in the forest would pick the next chieftain for our tribe. Everyone knew it was going to be Dire – he was stronger, more ambitious, and he could communicate with the forest with more ease than even our father could – in fact, more than anyone could. And again, I didn't care. I thought that after Dire became chieftain, I would leave my home for a few years and study other variations of magic. Most Druids would frown upon this, having shunned other types of magic for centuries to come, but I was curious," Dire gripped at the ledge of the window.

"But when the time came for the choosing, the spirits chose me," Kail's hands shook. "Not Dire. Not the stronger twin, the one who should have been chieftain – but me. And after that, no one looked at me the same way again. The tribes didn't welcome me as chieftain, and they grew suspicious. They knew I enjoyed working with other forms of magic, and someone started a wildfire rumor about how I used my other arts to manipulate the spirits into picking me as chieftain. I couldn't go anywhere without someone giving me a dirty look, or shutting their windows and doors in my face. And because my father died on an unnatural cause, the others began to think that I had killed him."

"The only two people that believed the spirits had chosen me was Dire, and my grandmother," Kail said. "My grandmother would tell me that even though it would take time, the tribes would learn to accept my being the Chieftain. Dire however, kept me on his watch whenever he could, telling me how to do things and tried to teach me to communicate better with the natural world. It was as if he was trying to force his soul into me."

"And then, I couldn't take it anymore. I gave up my position as chieftain to Dire's, and left for Kurast, where I apprenticed myself to the Necromancers there," Kail said, turning around to face her. "Dire never forgave me for what I did – he said that I betrayed him for giving up my position, that I betrayed everyone. He probably also felt humiliated that he became chieftain because of an inevitable reason. After an extremely bloody quarrel between the both of us that ended up in Dire nearly stabbing me to death, I left for Kurast and apprenticed myself with the Necromancers there. That was ten years ago."

Moran bit her lip. "Ten years ago and you haven't forgiven each other yet?"

Kail smiled at her sadly and placed his hand on her cheek. "It's not that simple."

"What's the point of being angry at each other then?" Moran said angrily. "You both have the same goals – to kill Baal."

Kail tried to place his lips on hers, but she turned away from him. "Conflict between the two of you isn't going to help us. Look at what happened between you and Ollan."

A muscle jumped in his jaw. Kail turned his back to her and began putting on the rest of his armor. Moran ignored him and looked for something to busy herself. Then she turned around, and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his back.

Moran mounted her horse, a heavy gray stallion so large that she was sure it could carry her, all of her equipment, and even Thorn. The horse shifted its weight as she settled into the saddle and she ruffled its white and silver mane.

She watched as Kail bid farewell to the Rogues and she caught Kashya's eyes. Moran raised her hand in farewell and the Rogue Captain nodded.

Kail rode up to them on his black horse. "Akara sends her blessings for all of us," he said solemnly.

"We'll need it," Dire grumbled and nudged his paint warhorse into a trot. "Let's go, we're wasting time."

Dire lengthened the reins and his horse broke into a fast canter that sent the other horses trailing after him. Moran gasped as she lost her stirrups and had to grab on the pommel of the saddle to prevent from slipping off. She saw Dire turn around and smirked at her. She gritted her teeth at him as Ollan came to her aid, roughly grabbing her arm to prevent her from slipping away from the saddle as she regained her seat.

They didn't slow down for nearly twenty minutes until they broke away from the thick forests into a sunny, bright area filled with smaller trees and shrubs. Dire held out a hand and they all slowed down to a walk.

"Curious…character isn't he?" Ollan said, guiding his dark brown horse next to hers, nodding to Dire. "I never knew Kail had a brother, much less one who's a Druid Chieftain."

"Surprising, isn't it?" Moran grumbled, glaring at Dire's back.

"More surprising is that Kail is a Necromancer," Ollan said, "and not a Druid. You do know that the Druids shun other types of magic?"

"Of course I know," Moran said, lowering her voice so that Dire wouldn't overhear them in the quiet surroundings. "You forget, Ollan, that I'm a sorceress."

Ollan smiled at her. "Despite how rude he seems, he does carry the aura of the legendary warrior-poet kings of the north, wouldn't you say so?"

Moran looked at Dire. He sat erect on the saddle, yet, he seemed relaxed and at ease. Even though he hardly wore anything that would make him look kingly, with his weapons, his stance, and the calm, but alert look in his eyes, he did fit Ollan's description.

She let Ollan ride ahead of her so that she could talk to Kail. She hit him on the shoulder. "You've been quiet. What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Thorn," Kail said.

"If it's the same Thorn we all know and love, I don't see why we have to worry about him," Moran said. "But then, it's your duty to worry about the rest of us, right?"

Making sure that the others were out of earshot, she reached around him and brushed her lips across his eyes. "Don't worry too much. Nothing good will come out of it."

He gave her a half-hearted kiss before slipping back into silence. She smiled at him and gently brushed back a lock of white hair that was falling into his eyes. He took her hand and kissed it gently.

"Excuse me, but if the two of you are quite finished, we're ready to start riding hard again," Dire's voice interrupted the gentle act between them and made them jump. Kail glared angrily at his brother.

After about five minutes of cantering through the shrubbery, they broke out into a large meadow with dried, yellowish grass so tall that even Dire's warhorse that stood over seventeen hands was nearly drowning in the blades.

While she was concentrating on keeping her eyes away from any stray blades of grass that could whip her across the face, she caught something moving in front of Dire.

"Dire!" She shouted. "There's something – "

She felt something crackle, and fizz, like the sound of a live wire hitting water. Every hair rose on the back of her neck. Then she felt it – felt the lightning.

"KAIL!" She screamed as the hidden lightning trap in the grass came alive and a bolt of lightning came down from the heavens and charged it. A quicksilver bolt of energy ran past her, narrowly missing her horse. Seven or even ten other bolts exploded the trap and snaked away.

She wheeled her horse around and galloped towards Kail, but Dire was faster and closer to him than she was. He charged the warhorse towards Kail's and held out his arm. Kail grabbed it and swung on the saddle behind his brother, and the bolt of lightning struck his horse.

Dire pulled his paint warhorse down to a canter, and then to a trot. Moran watched them, and for a moment, she was struck with the same feeling that overtook her when she saw Ollan with his sacrificial aura. Both of them were looking down at the fallen horse, red hair mingling with white, both with the same look of terror that Kail had so narrowly missed death. Dire rode in a wide arc around the fallen horse and Kail quickly climbed off.

"Are you all right?" Nikan asked her as they ran towards the struck horse. Moran nodded and fell down on her knees to look at the steed.

"Not dead yet," Dire said. "That trap wasn't made for killing. It's either a poorly made trap or the person just wanted someone to get hurt enough to slow down our process."

He stood up and raised a hand towards the forest, as if beckoning for someone to come out of the shadows. After a few moments, a chilling sound of some sort of animal dying came from the forest, followed by another, and then another. Moran counted a total of five screams before Dire raised his hand again. Then from the forest, a very similar vine that Dire used to threaten both her and Kail came crawling towards them, but this time, it pulsed with a reddish glow rather than the sickly green of poison. It wrapped around the horse's neck, and pierced into the large jugular vein. The horse stirred, but did not move.

After about five minutes, Dire unsheathed his short dagger and sliced through the vine, killing it. The horse raised its neck and whickered.

"There," Dire said, standing up as the horse stood up and snorted. "It's still too weak to go at the speed I want to go, but I don't think we should move fast…"

Moran looked at the remains of the lightning trap. "Who would want to try and hurt us?"

Dire looked at her. "That's no ordinary trap, sorceress. It's an Assassin's."


End file.
